A keel-laying ceremony was held Thursday, the second day of the 2025 International WorkBoat Show, to officially mark the start of construction on Navigator, the first of two new charting and mapping vessels being built for NOAA by Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors LLC, Houma, La.
NOAA Corps Rear Adm. Evelyn Fields (ret.) — the ship's sponsor.
The 270'x50' research vessel is being built under a $624.6 million contract awarded in 2023. The deal, which included options for up to two additional ships, is part of NOAA’s ongoing effort to modernize its fleet to better support ocean mapping and nautical charting.
NOAA finally has a stable funding line. “NOAA’s fleet was never built as a fleet,” said Vice Adm. Nancy A. Haun. “Navigator is the future of NOAA.”
Navigator is scheduled to be completed in 2028. As yet, no homeport has been announced. Its sistership, Surveyor, is scheduled for delivery in 2027 and will be homeported in Ketchikan, Alaska.
NOAA works hard to keep its maps and charts up to date, but it’s a big challenge. “We only get the value if the charts are up to date,” said Rear Adm. Ben Evans, director of NOAA’s coast survey. “Today, half of the U.S. waters are not mapped.”
The new vessels will each feature a Siemens Energy BlueDrive PlusC hybrid propulsion system with battery storage.
Main propulsion will come from four Caterpillar 3512 Tier 4 engines that will generate electricity for propulsion, research operations, and onboard systems.
The new vessel will be equipped to collect, process, and manage large datasets from tasks such as seafloor mapping and marine habitat surveys. It will also support the deployment of crewed survey boats, scientific instruments, and uncrewed systems to expand their research capabilities.
Data collected by NOAA ships are used to update nautical charts and other essential navigation tools.
Thoma-Sea is also building another class of NOAA research vessels. The 244'x51' oceanographic research ships Oceanographer and Discoverer are already in the water and scheduled for delivery in 2026.
