Nancy Foster was originally built as a Navy yard torpedo test (YTT) craft. In 2001, the Navy transferred the vessel to NOAA, which outfitted the ship to conduct coastal research along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Caribbean Sea. Nancy Foster is named for Dr. Nancy Foster, in tribute to her outstanding leadership within the National Marine Fisheries Service and National Ocean Service from 1986 until 2000. Nancy Foster continues the work of its predecessor, Ferrel, in support of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and the National Sea Grant College Program. Missions include the characterization of various habitats within NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, pollution assessment, and studies to better understand the connection between marine habitats and estuaries. Nancy Foster is a versatile research platform with numerous capabilities, including:
Near coastal and deep water ocean chemistry sampling and profiling
Bottom trawls and plankton net tows
Deployment of multiple dive teams using three small boats
Sediment sampling
Mid-depth multibeam surveys, seismic profiler tows, and side-scan sonar tows
Support of Remotely Operated Vehicles, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, and drift cameras
Servicing oceanographic and atmospheric surface and subsurface buoys
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Transferred from the Navy in 2001
Commissioned on May 10, 2004
Hull Number: R 352
Call Letters: WTER
Home Port : Charleston , SC
Operation Area: East and Gulf Coasts , Caribbean Sea
Length: 187 ft (56.7m)
Beam: 40 ft (12.1 m)
Draft Max: 11'0", Projected Draft 12'10"
Work Area: 1,600 sq ft
Displacement (Full Load): 1,190 tons
Designer: McDermott, Inc
Builder: McDermott, Inc., Amelia , Louisiana
Speed & Endurance
Cruising Speed: 11 knots
Range: 7,700 nm
Endurance: 14 days
Endurance Constraint: Food
Berthing
Single Staterooms: 5
Double Staterooms: 10
Quadruple Staterooms: 3
Total Bunks: 37
Medical Facilities
Emergency and first-aid equipment aboard, administered by trained vessel personnel and certified MPIC.
Compliment
Commissioned Officers: 5
Licensed Engineers: 3
Electronic Technician: 1
Survey Technician: 2
Crew: 10
Scientists: 15
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• URL: http://www.moc.noaa.gov/nf/specs/general.htm
• Updated: October 6, 2009
