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Former NOAA Ship Being Sold By Government of American Samoa
Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Washington is pleased to
announce that it has been authorized by the Office of the Governor of
American Samoa to offer the former NOAA research vessel "Townsend
Cromwell" available for sale.
"Townsend Cromwell" was decommissioned in October 2002 in
Honolulu after serving as a research ship for 39 years. The vessel
was named for the oceanographer for the Pacific Ocean Fisheries
Investigation Office in Honolulu between 1949 and 1953. The 163-foot
x 33-foot ship was built in 1963 by J. Ray McDermott of Morgany, City,
Louisiana for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries in Honolulu, which became part of NOAA when the agency was
formed in 1970. She was transferred by the Fish and Wildife Service
to NOAA in 1975 and has since supported NOAA Fisheries' Honolulu
Laboratory.
"Townsend Cromwell" spent it's service life operating
throughout the central and western Pacific, conducting fisheries
assessment surveys, physical and chemical oceanography, marine mammal
projects and coral reef research. Over the past several years, the
ship has participated in multi-agency efforts to remove hundreds of tons
of discarded fishing gear and other marine debris from the region's
fragile coral reef systems. It's final cruise, a 30-day research
expedition called the Northwestern Hawaiian Island Reef Assessment and
Monitoring Program, ended October 7th.
After retirement, the vessel was turned over to the
government of American Samoa and sailed to Pago Pago in November 2002
where she is now available for prompt inspection and delivery. The
"Townsend Cromwell" is not certified to carry passengers and
light cargo between Manu'a and Tutuila, however the government hopes to
sell or exchange the ship for a vessel that will meet the needs of the
people of Manu'a.
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