The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects to order two new oceanographic ships before the end of this year as part of its fleet rebuilding effort.
Design of the vessels is currently underway, with the first to be named Oceanographer and the second Discoverer.
The first ship will be homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii while the second will be assigned a homeport at a future date. NOAA currently has a fleet of 15 active research and survey ships in operation