US Military Sealift Command oceanographic survey ship USNS 'Bowditch' (T-AGS 62) marked the conclusion of a month long, bilateral survey mission in Vietnam by hosting Vietnamese military and government officials in Da Nang, Vietnam, June 21.
The reception was co-hosted by Navy Rear Admiral Jonathan White, commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and 'Bowditch's' civilian master, Captain Mike Farrell.
"This joint US-Vietnam mission to investigate underwater crash sites is using one of naval oceanography's world-class survey ships to augment the efforts of JPAC," said White. "The level of cooperation is a great example of the strengthening relationship between our two nations."
With its embarked team of 12 oceanographers and hydrographers from the Naval Oceanographic Office, or NAVOCEANO, 'Bowditch' conducts a wide range of survey operations covering the disciplines of physical oceanography, hydrography and bathymetry, acoustics, and geophysics. The Hawaii-based JPAC focuses on continued efforts to locate, recover and identify US service members unaccounted for from past conflicts.
Bowditch is operated and navigated by 24 merchant mariners who work for a private company under contract to MSC.
Bowditch surveyed pre-determined sites off Vietnam's coast May 20 to June 20, looking for US military losses from the Vietnam conflict in underwater environments.
"For the crew of Bowditch, it has been a rewarding experience working with the JPAC and Vietnamese liaisons to complete a mission that has so much meaning to the American people," Farrell said.
'Bowditch' completed 15 survey missions off the coast of Da Nang City, Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces in deep and shallow waters.
'Bowditch's' embarked hydrographic survey launch; a 10.4-metre, 6.8-tonne craft that resembles a commercial yacht but carries state-of-the-art survey equipment, was deployed to survey waters close to shore. Three JPAC personnel and five of their counterparts from the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons embarked 'Bowditch' for the mission and provided the data collected from underwater surveys to the government of Vietnam.
Once all data has been collated, JPAC analysts, including underwater anthropologists, will review the survey results. If warranted, JPAC will schedule future underwater investigations to further define the nature of the targets of interest or conduct underwater recovery operations.
'Bowditch's' survey mission is the second JPAC-sponsored mission by a Pathfinder-class ship to Vietnam, following USNS 'Bruce C Heezen's' search for sunken US aircraft in 2009.
