The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) fisheries research vessel Oscar Dyson has arrived at Ketchikan Shipyard in Alaska in preparation for a US$95.4 million modernisation under a contract awarded to JAG Alaska.
The contract, awarded on June 5, 2025, is set to end on December 5, 2027. The vessel will enter a year-long maintenance period after her 2026 field season, and NOAA anticipates she will return to service for the 2028 field season.
The refit will include replacement of the vessel’s propulsion system with US EPA Tier IV-compliant variable-speed generators, installation of quieter air-conditioning motors, and upgrades to her safety and research equipment. The vessel’s fire detection equipment, radars, cranes, fans, and pumps will all be replaced, while the number of single-person staterooms will be increased.
“These upgrades will help the ship continue to meet the needs of the nation in primarily Alaskan and Arctic waters well into the future,” said NOAA Corps Rear Admiral Chad Cary, Director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, in the agency’s June 2025 contract announcement.
“Modernising the shipboard technology will improve Dyson’s fuel efficiency and operational safety, while ensuring that future research performed by Dyson continues to be second to none.”
Commissioned on May 28, 2005, Oscar Dyson is based in Kodiak, Alaska. She is the lead vessel in NOAA’s fisheries survey class, designed to operate with especially little noise.
The ship primarily operates in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, collecting data on fish populations. Her research programme also covers surveys of marine mammals and seabirds and examination of ecosystems in those waters.
The vessel’s acoustic echosounders help gauge the numbers and spread of fish and invertebrates. NOAA said data collected by the vessel supports management of Alaska pollock, a commercial fishery ranked among the world’s largest.
NOAA said it will modify the fisheries research vessel Bell M. Shimada to keep research operations covered during Oscar Dyson’s maintenance period.