NOAAS Fairweather

NOAA Ship Fairweather (S 220)
History
File:United States Coast and Geodetic Survey flag1899-1970.png United States
Name	Fairweather
Namesake	Mount Fairweather in Alaska
Builder	Aerojet-General Shipyards, Jacksonville, Florida
Launched	March, 15 1967
Acquired	January 1968
Commissioned	April, 10 1968 (USCGS)
Out of service	1989 - 2004
Reinstated	August 2004 (NOAA)
Homeport	Ketchikan, AK
Identification	Call letters WTEB
Notes	Served in U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 1968-1970 Served in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1970-1989 and since 2004
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,651 tons
Displacement	1,800 tons
Length	231 ft (70.4 m)
Beam	42 ft (12.8 m)
Draft	15.5 ft (4.7 m)
Ice class	A1 ice strengthened
Propulsion	2 Detroit Electro-Motive Diesel engines, twin screw, controllable pitch propellers, 2400 shp Bow Thruster (variable pitch) Bridge Wing Controls (Engines, and Thruster) Port and Stbd
Speed	13.5 knots
Range	6,000 nautical miles
Endurance	22 days
Boats & landing craft carried	Four 28ft All-American Marine survey launches, One 19ft MetalShark Skiff, One 23ft Zodiac FRB, One 23ft AMBAR Jet Boat
Complement	Commissioned Officers: 11 Licensed Engineers: 4 Survey Technicians: 8 Crew: 23 Scientists: 11 (Max)

The NOAA Ship Fairweather (S 220) is a research ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Fairweather primarily conducts hydrographic surveys in Alaskan waters, but is considered a multi-mission capable vessel. Fairweather has conducted fisheries research cruises, as well as Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoy operations. She is the sister ship of the NOAA Ship Rainier and the retired NOAA Ship Mount Mitchell.

Overview

Fairweather is named for Mount Fairweather in Alaska. She was commissioned into the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1968; when NOAA was established in 1970 and took over the Coast and Geodetic Survey's assets, she became part of the NOAA fleet. Deactivated in 1989, the ship remained alongside NOAA's Pacific Marine Center in Seattle, Washington, for thirteen years. After being refitted at the Cascade General Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, the ship was reactivated in 2004 to aid with the backlog of critical survey area in Alaskan waters. Her current homeport is Ketchikan, Alaska.

Crew

Fairweather, like all NOAA ships, is operated by commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps and civilian wage mariners. Fairweather has a complement of 46 people, with additional berthing capability for visitors and scientists. The ship generally spends over 200 days per year at sea.

Equipment and Mission

Fairweather is equipped with two RESON multibeam echosounders, models 7111ER, and 8160. Her four survey launches are equipped with RESON 7125sv multibeam echosounders. In addition, Fairweather is capable of towing an L3/Klein System 5000 Side Scan Sonar, and her launches can be equipped with additional hull-mounted L3/Klein System 5000 side scan sonars. These side scan sonars are for use in near-shore Arctic survey operations. Additionally, officers and crew members from Fairweather routinely establish horizontal and vertical control instruments such as GNSS base stations and tide level measuring devices. Using this technology, the crew of Fairweather fully maps the ocean floor. These data are primarily used to update NOAA's US Nautical charts, but are increasingly used in other areas such as tsunami displacement modeling, flood mapping, and mapping fish habitats.

External links

Media related to NOAAS Fairweather (S 220) at Wikimedia Commons

• "NOAA Ship FAIRWEATHER". May 5, 2004. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
• "About NOAA Ship FAIRWEATHER". May 5, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2007.