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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 23 A SWATH for NOAA NOAA reported that VT Halter Marine, will complete the final design and build of a new Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Coastal Mapping Vessel (SWATH CMV) for the agency. NOAA exercised a $15 million option for the ship with VT Halter Marine, which also completed the vessel's preliminary design under a separate option. The primary mission of the SWATH CMV will be to map the full seafloor in coastal areas for the nation's nauti- cal charts. It will operate in waterways along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Caribbean Sea and Great Lakes, conducting basic hydro- graphic surveys of the seafloor using side scan and multibeam sonar technologies. The vessel's ability to monitor and detect changes to the seafloor-including obstructions, shoaling, and other dangers to navigation-will enhance the nation's commerce and security and improve our ability to characterize marine ecosystems. VT Halter Marine expects to deliver the SWATH CMV by the summer of 2008. The nearly 38-m long vessel will be homeported at Fort Point in New Castle, N.H., and will replace the 40-year-old NOAA ship Rude. Locating the vessel at New Castle will signifi- cantly enhance coastal and ocean mapping research partnership opportunities with the NOAA Joint Hydrographic Center at the University of New Hampshire. "The SWATH design is particularly suited to NOAA's mission to map the ocean floor, as it is less responsive to wave action than a mono- hull ship," said Rear Admiral Samuel P. De Bow Jr., director of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. "Its reduced motion will result in more reliable acquisition of survey data, and its enhanced sea- keeping ability will make it a more efficient survey plat- * O I N A 7 I N N I N G 4 E A M A T A 7 O R L D # L A S S / R G A N I Z A T I O N 4 E L E D Y N E 2 $ ) N S T R U M E N T S O F 3 A N $ I E G O # ! I S A D Y N A M I C I N T E R N A T I O N A L T E C H N O L O G Y D R I V E N G R O W T H C O M P A N Y O F F E R I N G E X C I T I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S T O M O T I V A T E D P E O P L E 7 E S P E C I A L I Z E I N T H E D E V E L O P M E N T A N D M A N U F A C T U R I N G O F L E A D I N G E D G E U N D E R W A T E R A C O U S T I C $ O P P L E R A N D S O N A R P R O D U C T S F O R M A R I N E O C E A N O G R A P H I C A N D E N V I R O N M E N T A L I N D U S T R I E S 0 / 3 ) 4 ) / . 3 ! 6 ! ) , ! " , % & I R M W A R E % N G I N E E R S 3 O F T W A R E % N G I N E E R S . A V I G A T I O N " U S I N E S S 5 N I T 3 A L E S - A N A G E R . A V I G A T I O N " U S I N E S S 5 N I T , E A D E R % M A I L R E S U M Ï S T O R D I H R T E L E D Y N E C O M W W W R D I N S T U M E N T S C O M 4 E L E D Y N E 2 $ ) N S T R U M E N T S I S A N E Q U A L O P P O R T U N I T Y E M P L O Y E R vessels VT Halter Marine will build a new SWATH for NOAA. MTR#9 (17-32).qxd 11/13/2006 4:46 PM Page 23
