Pacific Survey Group
What operated USNS Titan (T-AGOS-15) between Dec 2015 and Dec 2015?
USNS Titan ( T-AGOS-15 ) USNS Titan ( T-AGOS-15 ) was a Stalwart-class modified tactical auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship in service in the United States Navy from 1989 to 1993 . From 1996 to 2014 , she was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) fleet as the oceanographic research ship NOAAS Kaimimoana ( R 333 ) . Construction . The U.S . Navy ordered Titan from VT Halter Marine , Inc. , on June 30 , 1986 . VT Halter Marine laid her down at Moss Point , Mississippi , on October 30 , 1986 , launched her on June 18 , 1988 , and delivered her to the U.S . Navy on March 8 , 1989 . United States Navy service . On the day of her delivery , the U.S . Navy placed the ship in non-commissioned service in the Military Sealift Command as USNS Titan ( T-AGOS-15 ) . Like the other Stalwart-class ships , she was designed to collect underwater acoustical data in support of Cold War anti-submarine warfare operations against Soviet Navy submarines using Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System ( SURTASS ) sonar equipment . She operated with a mixed crew of U.S . Navy personnel and civilian merchant mariners . After the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in late December 1991 , the requirement for SURTASS collection declined . The Navy took Titan out of service on August 31 , 1993 and struck her from the Naval Vessel Register and transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) the same day . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration service . The conversion of Titan into an oceanographic research ship began in May 1995 at the shipyard of Maritime Contractors , Inc. , at Bellingham , Washington . Delivered to NOAA in April 1996 after completion of the conversion , the ship was commissioned into NOAA service as NOAAS Kaimimoana ( R 333 ) on April 25 , 1996 . Capabilities . Kaimimoana has berthing for 33 people in 21 single staterooms and six double staterooms providing her with the capacity to carry up to 12 scientists . She can seat 24 people at a time in two crews mess rooms , eight in the forward room and 16 in the aft room . She has a medical treatment room with one bunk , overseen by a United States Public Health Service Health Programs Officer . Kaimimoana has of laboratory space . On deck , she has a brailing winch , a CTD winch , three cranes , an A-frame , and a J-frame . She carries two boats , a rigid-hulled inflatable boat ( RHIB ) as a rescue boat and a inflatable utility boat . She is equipped with echosounders , a hull-mounted acoustic release transducer , a navigation fathometer , X-band and S-band radar , Global Positioning System receivers , a VHF radio direction finder , and a Sperry gyrocompass . Career . Kaimimoana was home-ported at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and was the only NOAA ship dedicated solely to climate research . She supported NOAAs Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project , which is designed to improve understanding of the role of the tropical ocean in modifying the worlds climate . Kaimimoana deployed , recovered , and serviced the National Data Buoy Centers deep-sea moorings—which measure ocean currents , ocean temperatures , and atmospheric variables—in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and transmitted buoy measurements in real time to NOAAs Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle , Washington . She also continuously measured upper ocean currents , surface salinity , carbon dioxide content , and sea-level atmospheric conditions while underway . Kaimimoana was retired by NOAA on June 18 , 2014 . . Kaimimoana was purchased by Pacific Survey Group in 2015 and renamed the Ocean Titan . Upon acquisition of the Ka Imimoana from NOAA , Pacific Survey Group conducted an extensive mid-life upgrade in 2016/2017 . All vessel systems were renewed and upgraded to modern technology . State of the art navigation and position control systems were added to make the vessel DP2 . As part of this upgrade 4 new Caterpillar EPA approved generator packages were installed , three additional tunnel thrusters , all new electric drives and controls , power management , switchboard control automation , and alarm and monitoring systems . All critical systems were made fully redundant making the vessel ABS and USCG approved DP2 . Additionally , the vessel’s interior was completely redone to give a more comfortable feel for clients and crew as well as increased birthing for clients . These modifications make the Ocean Titan one of the only fully redundant DP2 Research Vessel’s in private operation in the US . Additionally , her upgrades make her not only versatile but incredibly efficient and acoustically quiet due to extensive sound dampening and vibration reductions . The improvements also increased the vessels speed , range , and endurance . References . Bibliography . - Wertheim , Eric , ed . The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World , 15th Edition : Their Ships , Aircraft , and Systems . Annapolis , Maryland : United States Naval Institute Press , 2007 . . . External links . - NavSource Online : Service Ship Photo Archive : USNS Titan ( T-AGOS-15 ) NOAA KaImimoana ( R-333 ) - NOAA Ship Kaimimoana - Pacific Survey Group