NOAAS Oregon II
NOAAS Oregon II (R 332) in 2007.
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History | |
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Bureau of Commercial Fisheries | |
Name | US FWS Oregon II |
Namesake | US FWS Oregon (FWS 1600) , Fish and Wildlife Service research vessel |
Builder | Ingalls Shipyard, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
Launched | February 1967 |
Acquired | August 1967 (delivery) |
Commissioned | Never |
Identification | Call sign WTDO |
Fate | Transferred to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 3 October 1970 |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
Name | NOAAS Oregon II (R 332) |
Namesake | Previous name retained |
Acquired | Transferred from Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 3 October 1970 |
Commissioned | 17 March 1977 |
Homeport | Pascagoula, Mississippi |
Identification |
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Honors and awards | Department of Commerce Gold Medal (1999) |
Status | Active |
General characteristics | |
Type | research ship |
Tonnage |
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Displacement | 729 tons |
Length | 170 ft (52 m) |
Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
Depth | 24.1 ft (7.3 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 7,810 nautical miles (14,460 km) |
Endurance | 33 days |
Boats & landing craft carried | 1 x 18.2-foot (5.5 m) rescue boat |
Complement | 19 (5 , and 11 other crew members), plus up to 12 scientists. |
NOAAS Oregon II (R 332) is an American fisheries research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet since 1977. Prior to her NOAA career, she was delivered to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1967 as US FWS Oregon II, but not commissioned. She was transferred to NOAA in 1970, but was not placed in commission until 1977.
Construction and commissioning
Characteristics and capabilities
Oregon II is outfitted as a double-rigged
Oregon II has various
Oregon II carries an 18.2-foot (5.5-meter) rescue boat with a 90-horsepower (67-
Oregon II has undergone an upgrade in which she received new electronic fish detection equipment, environmental sensors, and deck-handling and electronics equipment. Her laboratory and living spaces were refurbished, her original
Service history
Operated by NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, Oregon II conducts fishery and living marine resource studies in support of the research of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pascagoula Laboratory in Pascagoula. The ship collects fish and crustacean specimens using trawls and benthic longlines and fish larvae, fish eggs, and plankton using plankton nets and surface and midwater larval nets. She normally operates in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern United States, and the Caribbean Sea.[5] Her home port is Pascagoula.[1]
Oregon II's projects include summer and autumn
On 16 March 1989, an engine fire broke out aboard Oregon II while she was moored at Mobile, Alabama. Her chief engineer, Mr. James V. Brosh, entered the smoke-filled engine room to make sure it was clear of personnel before discharging carbon dioxide into the area to fight the fire. He later personally directed Mobile Fire Department firefighters in extinguishing the blaze. His actions were credited with limiting the damage and saving the ship, and for his courage and heroism in ensuring the safety of personnel and in fighting the fire, he received the Department of Commerce Silver Medal later in 1989.[6]
In August 1998, Oregon II became the first
On 28 February 1999, Oregon II was 25 nautical miles (46 kilometres) off
When NOAA retired the fisheries research ship
Honors and awards
Department of Commerce Gold Medal 1999
In a ceremony in 1999 in Washington, D.C., Oregon II was awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Medal for "public service or heroism"[9] for her lifesaving efforts off Florida on 28 February 1999.[9] The program for the ceremony cited her achievement as follows:
The NOAA Ship OREGON II is recognized for the rescue of two men and one woman whose 25-foot boat capsized in heavy weather off the Florida coast. By the time the OREGON II found them, the hapless mariners had been in the water for about five hours and had begun to suffer the debilitating effects of hypothermia. With darkness falling and the vessel drifting helplessly in the Gulf Stream and authorities unaware of their situation or their position, the three would almost surely have perished were it not for the vigilant watchstanding and prompt rescue efforts of the OREGON II.[9]
See also
- NOAA ships and aircraft
References
- ^ a b c d e NOAA Ship Oregon II Characteristics and Capabilities
- ^ moc.noaa.gov OREGON II
- ^ a b c d NOAA Ship Oregon II flier
- ^ NOAA Ship Oregon II Engineering
- ^ NOAA Ship Oregon II
- ^ a b c NOAA History: Hall of Honor: Commerce Medals Presented For Lifesaving and the Protection of Property 1955-2000
- ^ Anonymous, "Crew Of Research Ship Rescues 3 Clinging To Boat," Orlando Sentinel, March 5, 1999.
- ^ Havens, April M., "NOAA ship Oregon II to leave Pascagoula on 300th research cruise," gulflive.com, July 26, 2012, 4:20 PM
- ^ a b c Program of Fifty-First Annual Honor Awards, United States Department of Commerce, 1999: Gold Medal: NOAA Ship OREGON II, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration