Seen off West Seattle: NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown visiting after Arctic Ocean research

Thanks to Gary Jones for sharing his photo from Alki Point. The newest notable sighting at sea off West Seattle is NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown (R-104), the federal agency’s largest ship at 274 feet. It’s docked on the Duwamish River tonight, as shown on MarineTraffic.com; the latest fleet report from NOAA says the ship arrived from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, after studying “bioeffects of the Chukchi Sea,” described further:

Assess habitat conditions that influence biodiversity and distribution of benthic infaunal communities, contaminants, and chemical body burdens of resident organisms as measures of environmental health in the bays and lagoons in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in the vicinity of proposed oil transport pipelines. Baseline data will be essential for monitoring pollution control effectiveness and National Resource Damage Assessment activities in the event of a spill.

The Chukchi Sea is where Shell had drilled before announcing earlier this fall that it would end its Arctic Ocean exploration TFN. The Ronald H. Brown is homeported in Charleston, South Carolina; no word how long it’ll be here.

4 Replies to "Seen off West Seattle: NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown visiting after Arctic Ocean research"

  • Jeanie October 31, 2015 (1:17 am)

    Thanks for posting. I saw it while walking along Alki late this afternoon and was wondering about it.

  • JayDee October 31, 2015 (7:11 am)

    Me too. When I got home I saw it standing off Alki but is was gone when I got to Live Ships. Thanks.

  • Ex-Westwood Resident October 31, 2015 (2:17 pm)

    This the first visit of the Ronald Brown to Seattle in at least 12 years. She is based out of Norfolk, VA.

    • WSB October 31, 2015 (2:23 pm)

      Its mail address is in Norfolk but according to multiple official sites I visited while researching, including the one to which its name is linked, its homeport is Charleston. Doubt it spends much time there, though, with the global mission. – TR

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