NOAA awards contract for Ketchikan facility, paving way for research vessel to tie up at home port
Posted by Eric Stone | Apr 7, 2021
This undated photo shows the research vessel Fairweather. (NOAA photo)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says work will begin soon on a new office building and pier in Ketchikan. The agency says the project will allow it to bring the research ship Fairweather to its official home port in the southern panhandle.
While the Fairweather spends much of its time at sea mapping the seafloor, studying fisheries and searching for shipwrecks in Alaska, the research vessel hasn’t had a home in the state since at least 2008.