On July 1, with a volley of signatures, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego formally took control of research vessel Sally Ride, the newest ship in the American research fleet. Representatives of R/V Sally Ride’s owner, the U.S. Navy, Scripps Oceanography, and the manufacturer of the vessel, Dakota Creek Industries, were on hand for the signing at the Anacortes, Wash. shipyard where the vessel has been under construction since 2012.
The vessel’s inaugural crew is now outfitting it with equipment and preparing it for initial test cruises along the West Coast. The vessel is currently expected to arrive at its home port, the Nimitz Marine Facility in San Diego, on Aug. 26. It is expected to commence its first formal research cruise in November when it conducts a California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations survey off the California coast.
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