I learned how the vessel creates its own water and power. He showed me how they process sewage and garbage aboard the vessel. I had the opportunity to explore the engine room with the ship’s first assistant engineer to see how this mini-city works. NOAA Ship Pisces is like a floating city. Bridge Center Navigation “Moo”ving the ship It functions almost like an auto-pilot to keep the ship in the proper position. The dynamic positioning system allows the vessel to stay within certain parameters when supporting science missions. The technology on the bridge is quite amazing.

The science that is being conducted determines where the officer will navigate from. The vessel can be operated from one of four different stations. The Commanding Officer gave me a tour of the bridge. The ship shares the oceanographic, hydrographic and weather data it gathers daily to the outside world. This vessel was also engineered to be quiet while underway so it won’t scare marine life. The centerboard, on the hull underneath the ship, has mounted sensors that send back various types of data for the scientist to use. There is a side sample station on the starboard deck where the cameras and ROVs are launched and the trawls are deployed on its stern. In the dry lab, the mission data is stored and processed by the scientists and survey technicians on the ship. The onboard wet lab is used to process the marine life brought in on trawls, long lines, or bandit reels. It has the capability to run acoustic surveys, marine mammal surveys, and various fish surveys. The crew of the vessel during my sail consists of 5 NOAA Officers, 5 deck crew, 5 engineers, 4 technicians, 2 stewards and 5 scientists. It is large enough to hold 39 passengers. This research vessel is 209 feet long, 50 feet wide, and it has a draft of 20 feet. While I have been at sea, I have spent time exploring Pisces and getting to know the people on board. Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Airforce project pisces