US Navy awards contract for design, construction of new oceanographic survey ship

By Baird Maritime - August 6, 2021.

*USNS Maury, a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship of the US Navy (Photo: US Navy/Halter Marine)*

ST Engineering North America subsidiary Halter Marine has been awarded a US$149 million contract for the detail design and construction of a new oceanographic survey ship for the US Navy.

The 329-foot (100-metre) vessel will be the eighth Pathfinder-class ship to be built by Halter Marine for the navy. Its features will include a 300-square-foot (27-square-metre) moonpool for unmanned vehicle deployment and retrieval.

The vessel’s primary roles will include hydrographic surveys of uncharted regions and collection of research data to increase scientists’ understanding of the ocean water column, sea surface, and sea-floor effects on underwater acoustics.