NOAAS ''Mount Mitchell'' (S 222) was an American

survey vessel 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 ...

in commission in the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

from 1970 to 1995. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

as USC&GS ''Mount Mitchell'' (MSS 22) from 1968 to 1970. In 2003, she returned to service as the private

research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

R/V ''Mt. Mitchell''.

Construction and commissioning

''Mount Mitchell'' was built for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey as a "medium survey ship" (MSS) at the Aerojet-General Shipyards in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Launched on 29 November 1966, she was commissioned into the Coast and Geodetic Survey in March 1968 as USC&GS ''Mount Mitchell'' (MSS 22). When the Survey merged with other organizations to form NOAA in 1970, she became part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS ''Mount Mitchell'' (S 222). She is the

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 ...

of and , which are both still in service with NOAA.

USC&GS and NOAAS ''Mount Mitchell'', 1968–1995

''Mount Mitchell'' operated as a multipurpose vessel. She had an

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

, several echosounders, and an oceanographic

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

. She also had a hydroplot data-processing system, as did two of her survey launches. ''Mount Mitchell'' conducted

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...

s on the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

and in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and served as an oceanographic vessel throughout much of the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

on various projects. In the late 1980s she was fitted with a multi-beam sounding system for hydrographic work related to establishing the maritime

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and discovered Mitchell Dome among other large, economically significant undersea features in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. In 1992 she proceeded to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

to study the effects of the 1990–1991

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

s into the Gulf. After returning to the United States, she resumed operations as a hydrographic survey vessel until decommissioning in 1995.

Awards

US Department of Commerce Silver Medal ribbon

Department of Commerce Silver Medal The awards and decorations of the United States Department of Commerce are Awards and decorations of the United States government, civil awards and decorations which are presented to civilian and uniformed personnel of the U.S. Department of Commer ...

In a ceremony on 9 November 1992 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, ''Mount Mitchell'' was awarded the

for her 1990–1991 Persian Gulf cruise.Program of Forty-Fourth Annual Honor Awards, United States Department of Commerce, November 9, 1992: Silver Medal Recipients: NOAA Ship Mt. Mitchell, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
/ref> The program for the ceremony cited her achievements as follows:

NOAA Ship ''Mt. Mitchell'', Atlantic Marine Center, completed a historic cruise surveying environmental damage in the Persian Gulf caused by oil spills. The cruise is the first major oceanographic survey of the Persian Gulf since 1977 and is the most comprehensive ever in terms of
geographic Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
and subject area coverage. Conquering numerous obstacles in a dangerous environment, the crew of the ''Mt. Mitchell'' acquired data against which future changes in water quality can be assessed.

R/V ''Mt. Mitchell'', 2001–2023

After six years of inactivity, the decommissioned ''Mount Mitchell'' was purchased in 2001 by Mt. Mitchell LLC and was completely refurbished and retrofitted with the latest in electronics, machinery, and safety equipment. With her refit complete, she arrived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, in 2003 to begin her career as the private

R/V ''Mt. Mitchell''. She is managed and operated by Global Seas LLC, headquartered in Seattle. In 2008, ''Mt. Mitchell'' was outfitted with the most advanced underwater mapping equipment available. Her

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production and fo ...

EM 120 and EM 710 high-resolution multibeam mapping systems offer a state-of-the-art capability to perform seabed mapping to full ocean depth with unrivaled resolution, coverage, and accuracy. The EM 120 system allows for accurate surveys to a depth of 11,000 meters (36,089 feet), while the EM 710 allows for accurate mapping to a depth of 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). The vessel is an acoustically quiet platform capable of supporting sophisticated

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

operations in deep water and high sea states. To ensure ship-related noise does not degrade the vessel′s capability to perform her science mission at full performance, the sonar systems are installed in a gondola arrangement below her hull. In addition, custom-designed

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s were installed in early 2011 to improve her efficiency. In 2008, ''Mt. Mitchell'' was outfitted with stabilization tanks and anti-roll chocks which have eliminated much of her natural roll, making her an ideal platform for surveying. ''Mt. Mitchell'' is a very quiet vessel in comparison to other commercial research platforms and performance and acoustical testing of the EM 710 sonar demonstrated that it is identical to that obtained on the quietest

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 ...

research vessels. ''Mt. Mitchell'' also operates two launches, R/V ''Mt. Augustine'' and R/V ''Mt. Shishaldin''. For shallow-water surveying, ''Mt. Augustine'' is a 32-foot (9.75-meter) Silver Streak cuddy-cabin twin- diesel craft outfitted with a multibeam sidescan sonar mount and

space that ''Mt. Mitchell'' launches and retrieves through a Vestdavit system. ''Mt. Shishaldin'' is a 25-foot (7.6-meter)

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

that can seat six people and has a drop-down bow for landing on remote beaches; it can be used for ferrying people between ship and shore, tide gauging, and hauling

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

Uruguayan Navy

On October 20, 2023, it was reported that the Minister of National Defense of Uruguay, Javier García, confirmed that the purchase of ''Mt. Mitchell'' for the Uruguayan Navy was ratified. The ship will serve as the new oceanographic and research vessel of the Uruguayan Navy since the retirement of Uruguayan survey ship ROU 22 ''Oyarvide''.

Notes

References

*Prézelin, Bernard, and A. D. Baker III, eds. ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1990/1991: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Armament''. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute, 1990. .
NOAA History, A Science Odyssey: Tools of the Trade: Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships: Mt. Mitchell

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Mitchell (S 222) Ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Survey ships of the United States Ships built in Jacksonville, Florida 1966 ships North Carolina-related ships Recipients of the Department of Commerce Silver Medal