NOAA Marine Operations Center - Naval Station Newport Rhode Island

NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER | credit: NOAA

The Newport Rhode Island waterfront will become the home of another important U.S. government maritime facility.

In December 2023, the U.S. Navy, on behalf of NOAA, awarded $146,778,932 to Skanska USA, from New York, to design and build a new NOAA facility on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.

This facility will eventually be the new home of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center - Atlantic. 

While the details of the facility’s design are still being finalized, requirements include having a pier that will accommodate four large vessels, a floating dock for smaller vessels, space for vessel repairs and parking and a building to be used for shoreside support and as a warehouse. Construction is anticipated to be completed by 2027. 

The contract to design and build the new NOAA facility was awarded following a request for proposals that was open from January to August 2023. 

The design and construction of the facility is funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act. Funding supports community efforts to prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events.

The act also supports improvements to weather and climate data and services, and NOAA’s fleet of research airplanes and ships. 

“By co-locating with Naval Station Newport, we are able to make our ship operations more efficient and increase long-term cost savings through sharing common capabilities,” said NOAA Corps Rear Admiral Nancy Hann, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.

NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships are operated, managed and maintained by NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. The fleet supports a wide range of marine activities, including fisheries surveys, nautical charting and ocean and climate studies.

Two of NOAA's most important research vessels are based out of Newport, Rhode Island:

NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow is a fisheries survey vessel built specifically for NOAA to support the study and monitoring of marine fisheries and marine mammals. Henry B. Bigelow operates along the northeast and mid-Atlantic coast, from Maine to North Carolina.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer is dedicated to exploring the open ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge about the ocean. Missions of the 224-foot vessel include mapping, site characterization, reconnaissance, advancing technology, education, and outreach.

source: NOAA

Related Information

Rhode Island

2020 Icebreaking Season (Northeast)

USCG Tug Bollard | credit: USCG

The 2020 U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking season has begun, as winter’s cold temperatures are anticipated to impact ports, waterways, and harbors in the Northeast.

Each winter, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) conducts icebreaking efforts throughout coastal New England.

Icebreaking is often needed on the Merrimack River, Kennebec River, Connecticut River, Penobscot Bay, Boston Harbor, Cape Cod Bay, Buzzard's Bay, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, and other waterways.

Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (OpRENEW) is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy, and emergency resources they need throughout the winter.

Of the heating oil used in the country, more than 85 percent is consumed in the Northeast, and 90 percent of that is delivered on a Coast Guard maintained waterway by ship.

The Coast Guard's domestic icebreaking operations are intended to facilitate navigation within reasonable demands of commerce and minimize waterways closures during the winter, while enabling commercial vessels to transit through ice-covered critical channels.

Coast Guard crews are also replacing aids to navigation with special ice buoys designed to ride underneath ice and remain on location.

A coordinated effort with the maritime industry ensures the vital ports of the Northeast remain open year-round.

source: U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast

Mayflower Voyage - Plymouth Colony 400th Anniversary

Mayflower Replica Attribution:

User: Stilfehler at wikivoyage shared [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Massachusetts will host a series of events in 2020 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of two historic events that helped shape the United States of America; the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony.

Selected by the state’s Plymouth 400 Commission, the events will highlight the historical significance of the English Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth in 1620, and interactions with the Native American Wampanoag people.

The series of 400th anniversary events will showcase Massachusetts’ vibrant culture, cuisine, history and natural beauty.


400th anniversary activities for 2020 include:

• official Plymouth 400 opening ceremony in Plymouth


• the sailing of the Mayflower to Boston, Provincetown and Plymouth


• a maritime festival hosted by Mayflower Sails 2020 in Boston Harbor alongside the USS Constitution and Mayflower


• a homecoming festival in Plymouth with visiting ships and maritime activities


• Wampanoag Ancestors Walk, led by the Wampanoag tribes of Massachusetts


• Official State House Salute to the 400th Anniversary


• Embarkation Festival


• Indigenous History Conference and Powwow


• Illuminate Thanksgiving 2020


• a moving exhibit entitled “Our Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History", is traveling around Massachusetts and New England in 2020


• the United Kingdom and The Netherlands are also participating by sending official delegations to Massachusetts

In preparation for 400th anniversary celebrations, the Plimoth Plantation has completed a three-year, $11.2 million restoration of the historic wooden sailing ship Mayflower.

For information about visiting Massachusetts, go to massvacation.com.

sources: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, plymouth400inc.org, Plimoth Plantation