VT Halter to build fourth NOAA research vessel

VT Halter Marine will be building a fourth fisheries survey vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Construction on the estimated $30 million vessel is expected to begin in late May or early June, with delivery planned in the second half of 2008.

The survey vessel is the fourth and last ship to be built under a contract between VT Halter and NOAA that called for the construction of one ship and an option to buy three more. The first ship, the ?Oscar Dyson? was delivered to NOAA in January 2005, while the second ship, the ?Henry B. Bigelow?, was launched in July 2005 and is expected to be delivered during the middle of this year. Construction is currently underway on the third vessel, which has not been named and is scheduled for delivery in late 2007.

The 64 m survey ships have low acoustic signatures, giving them the ability to perform hydro-acoustic surveys of fish. They will also be able to conduct bottom and mid-water trawls while performing physical and biological oceanographic sampling during a single deployment, a combined capability unavailable in the private sector.