USNS ''Marie Tharp'' (T-AGS-66) is a oceanographic

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

operated by the

Military Sealift Command The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The seventh ship in her class, ''Marie Tharp'' is named for oceanographer

Marie Tharp Marie Tharp (July 30, 1920 – August 23, 2006) was an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer. In the 1950s, she collaborated with geologist Bruce Heezen to produce the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. Her cartogr ...

; the ship was renamed in 2023 from ''Maury''. The-then ''Maury''s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid on 1 February 2011 in a ceremony at the

VT Halter Marine VT Halter Marine, Inc. was a shipbuilding company and an American subsidiary of ST Engineering. It was located in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It specialized in ship design and construction and served both public and private clients, including the Un ...

shipyard in

Moss Point, Mississippi Moss Point is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,147 in 2020, a decline from the figure of 13,704 in 2010. The Moss Point Historic District and several individual buildings are listed on the National Reg ...

. The hull was launched on 27 March 2013 and the ship was delivered on 16 February 2016. ''Maury'' completed her maiden voyage in June 2016.

Details

''Marie Tharp'' was the first oceanographic survey ship built since was launched in 2000. At approximately , ''Marie Tharp'' is longer than her other

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s in the same class. This modification is to accommodate a

moon pool A moon pool is an equipment deployment and retrieval feature used by oil platforms, marine drilling platforms, drillships, diving support vessels, fishing vessels, oceanography, marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and ...

for unmanned vehicle deployment and retrieval.

Name change

The

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (; NDAA 2020Pub.L. 116-92 is a United States federal law which specifies the budget, expenditures and policies of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2020. Analogous ...

created a new

Naming Commission The Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America, more commonly referred to as the Naming Commissio ...

to examine names across the US armed forces that honor the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, the group of states that attempted to break away from the US during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In September 2022, the Naming Commission recommended the renaming of ''Maury'' and cruiser , with the new names to be decided by the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

. ''Maury'' was named after military officer and diplomatic envoy

Matthew Fontaine Maury Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and ...

, the "Father of Modern Oceanography" who resigned from a 36-year career in the US Navy to accept a command in the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

during the American Civil War. On 8 March 2023,

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, the US Navy Secretary,

Carlos Del Toro Carlos Del Toro (born 1961) is a Cuban-American entrepreneur and retired United States Navy officer who served as the 78th United States secretary of the Navy from 2021 to 2025. He is the second Hispanic American to serve as the Secretary of the ...

, announced the ship would be renamed in honor of oceanographer

, best known for helping produce the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor.SECNAV Renames Pathfinder-class Oceanographic Survey Ship USNS Maury after Marie Tharp
Media Release,

, 2023-03-08Navy Renames Survey Ship After Pioneering Female Ocean Researcher, Stripping Vessel of Confederate Ties
Konstantin Toropin, Military.com, 2023-03-08 The renaming was formally completed in the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 13 March 2023.

References

External links

USNS Maury (T-AGS 66)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66) Pathfinder-class survey ships Ships built in Moss Point, Mississippi 2013 ships