Description

Military Sealift Command's (MSC) Special Mission program supports worldwide oceanographic programs with six ships that perform acoustical, biological, physical and geophysical surveys. These ships gather data that provide much of the military's information on the ocean environment. The collected data helps to improve technology in undersea warfare. The oceanographic and hydrographic survey ships' multibeam, wide-angle precision sonar systems make it possible to continuously chart a broad strip of ocean floor. Survey ships have charted three-fourths of the world's coastlines, making it easier for navigators to find their way along both well-traveled and unfamiliar shipping routes.

Features

The Pathfinder-class survey ships have two multipurpose cranes and five winches plus a variety of oceanographic equipment, including multibeam echo-sounders, towed sonars and expendable sensors. These ships are capable of carrying two 34-foot hydrographic survey launches (HSL) for data collection in coastal regions with depths between 10 and 600 meters, and in deep water to 4,000 meters. A small diesel engine is used for propulsion at towing speeds of up to 6 knots. HSLs carry Kongsberg high-frequency active hull-mounted and side scan sonars.

The USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS 66), the most recent addition to the survey ship fleet, can deploy and retrieve a variety of mission systems, including autonomous underwater vehicles. The ship also has the capability of being configured to accept the Naval Mobile Instrumentation System, which provides the platform with the capability to track missiles.

Background

The original contract for the Pathfinder-class of surveying ships was awarded in January 1991. By early 2002, six ships were performing active missions for MSC. The final Pathfinder-class survey ship, USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67) is scheduled to be delivered in December of 2026.