NOAAS Whiting

File:NOAAS Whiting (S 329) starboard bow view.jpgWhiting was built at a cost of $2,300,000 (USD) as a "coastal survey ship" (CSS) for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey by the Marietta Manufacturing Company at Point Pleasant, West Virginia.[http://www.history.noaa.gov/ships/whiting.html NOAA History: Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships: Whiting] She was launched on 20 November 1962 and delivered in July 1963.[http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/65721_pt2.pdf Appendix E, pp. 12-16.][https://archive.org/stream/shipsofnoaafleet00rock/shipsofnoaafleet00rock_djvu.txt Ships of the NOAA Fleet, Rockville, Maryland: United States Department of Commerce, June 1989][https://books.google.com/books?id=VO8BAdZJ7SsC&dq=%22oregon+ii%22+commissioned+1967&pg=PA614 Polmar, Norman, The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Seventeenth Edition, Naval Institute Press: Annapolis, Maryland, 2001], {{ISBN|1-55750-656-6}}, p. 614. The Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned her on 8 July 1963 in a ceremony at New Orleans, Louisiana,[http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/ship1418.htm Invitation to commissioning ceremony of USC&GS Ship WHITING on July 8, 1963] as USC&GS Whiting (CSS 29), the first and only Coast and Geodetic Survey ship of the name. When the Coast and Geodetic Survey and other United States Government agencies merged to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, Whiting became a part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS Whiting (S 329),[http://www.researchvessels.org/country/USA/Whiting/ researchvessels.org NOAA Ship WHITING - S329] thus far the only NOAA ship to bear the name.

Whiting had a two-drum bathythermograph winch with a maximum pull of 1,000 pounds (454 kg). The lower drum had 3/16-inch (4.75-mm) wire rope, while the upper drum had {{convert|13,123|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} of 1/4-inch (6.4-mm) wire rope. She had a {{convert|27|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} telescoping boom with a lifting capacity of {{convert|2,500|lb|kg}} and a {{convert|27|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} articulating boom with a lifting capacity of {{convert|2,768|lb|kg}}, as well as a 16-foot A-frame with a maximum load of {{convert|6250|lb|kg}} and a working load of {{convert|5000|lb|kg}}.

For acoustic hydrography and bathymetry, Whiting had 12-Khz deep-water echosounder, a 100-kHz shallow-water echosounder-lOOKhz, a 24- and 100-kHz hydrographic survey sounder, and the Intermediate Depth Swath Survey System (IDSSS), which is a 36-kHz sidescan sonar. In 1989 she underwent a major upgrade involving the installation of Hydrochart II, which employed a Microvax computer system to acquire and process hydrographic data. Hydrochart II gave her the capability to generate bottom contour charts with a swath width of approximately two-and-a-half times the water depth, ranging from {{convert|10|to|1000|m|ft|sp=us}}, in real time.

Whiting had an ice-strengthened steel hull.

Whiting carried two {{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} aluminum-hulled diesel-powered Jensen survey launches. For utility and rescue purposes, she also carried two open boats with gasoline-powered outboard motors, a {{convert|16|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} Boston Whaler fiberglass-hulled boat and {{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} Monark aluminum-hulled boat.

At the time of her decommissioning, Whiting was the most technologically advanced hydrographic survey platform in the world. She and her survey launches were outfitted with modern multibeam echosounders and sidescan sonars, allowing efficient and rapid hydrographic surveys. The data storage for survey data was close to 2 terabytes, and nine workstations allowed survey personnel to process the data with state-of-the-art software and create three-dimensional models of the ocean floor, side-scan mosaics, and imagery of historical wrecks.[http://www.greenenvironmentnews.com/Environment/Climate/N.O.A.A.+Ship+Whiting+Decommissioned+after+39+Years+of+Service greenenvironmentnews.com NOAA News: "N.O.A.A. Ship Whiting Decommissioned after 39 Years of Service," May 2, 2003.]

Whiting conducted hydrographic and bathymetric surveys involving nautical charting and ocean mapping, primarily along the United States East Coast and United States Gulf Coast and off territories of the United States in the Caribbean.[http://www.moc.noaa.gov/Decomm%20Ships/wh-index.html NOAA Marine Operations Center: NOAA Ship Whiting] She also imaged historical wrecks like that of the United States Navy monitor {{USS|Monitor}} and was used for oceanography, fisheries research, and homeland security surveys. During her 39-year career, her operations took her from as far north as Duluth, Minnesota, to as far south as Honduras in Central America.

After receiving word that the Piper Saratoga II HP flown by John F. Kennedy Jr. had disappeared during a flight on the evening of 16 July 1999 and was feared to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Whiting, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gerd F. Glang, interrupted her survey operations in the Delaware Bay on 18 July to make a 24-hour voyage at about {{convert|12|kn|mph km/h}} to the search area and participate in the search for the aircraft and its passengers. Arriving on the scene on the morning of 19 July 1999, Whiting joined the NOAA survey ship NOAAS Rude (S 590), which had been searching for the wreckage of the aircraft since 17 July using sidescan sonar and multibeam sonar. Whiting brought a more advanced sidescan sonar – only recently installed aboard the ship – to the effort that allowed a higher resolution and a higher search speed. While Whiting searched one area in dense fog, dodging lobster pots, Rude found and marked a high-confidence target in another area that appeared to be the missing Saratoga and radioed the United States Navy rescue and salvage ship {{USS|Grasp|ARS-51}} about the discovery; Whiting then searched the same area to gain higher-resolution images of the target. Late on 20 July, U.S. Navy divers from Grasp confirmed that the target was the missing aircraft. Whiting and Rude competed their survey of the crash area on 21 July 1999, then assisted the United States Coast Guard in maintaining security in the area. Later on 21 July, the two ships were released from duty in the crash area, and Whiting set course for Washington, D.C., to take part in the assumption-of-command ceremony for incoming NOAA Corps Director Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields at the Washington Navy Yard on 27 July.[https://books.google.com/books?id=9X0VAAAAQBAJ&dq=Whiting+Rio+Tuxpan&pg=PA117 Steelhammer, Rick, It Happened in West Virginia: Remarkable Events That Shaped History, First Edition, Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 2013.] {{ISBN|978-0-7627-7054-0}}.[http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/disaster_response/#jfk noaa.gov Disaster Response: NOAA Ships, Planes, and Officers Offer Valuable Capabilities: JFK, Jr. Airplane Crash: July 16, 1999][http://www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/finding_jfk.html Konop, Dane, "A Behind the Scenes Look: NOAA Ships Survey, Locate JFK Jr. Plane," history.noaa.gov, undated.] On 30 July 1999, the U.S. Coast Guard presented personnel involved in the search-and-rescue effort, including the crews of Whiting and Rude, with a commendation

... for exceptionally meritorious service from 17 July 1999 to 23 July 1999 in the search and recovery of the downed aircraft carrying John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; and her sister Lauren Bessette. Members of the Unified Command distinguished themselves during this complex operation with their professional expertise and poise.

Whiting again was operating in the Delaware Bay under Lieutenant Commander Glang's command when Egyptair Flight 990, a Boeing 767-300ER, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, on 31 October 1999. The U.S. Coast Guard requested her support in the search for the downed aircraft, and she soon got underway for Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, where she replenished her supplies and refueled before proceeding to the crash area.[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s310.htm Anonymous, "NOAA SHIP WHITING TO JOIN EGYPTAIR FLIGHT 990 SEARCH", NOAA News, November 1, 1999.] Arriving on the scene early on 2 November,[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s312.htm Anonymous, "NOAA SHIP WHITING BEGINS ITS SEARCH FOR EGYPTAIR FLIGHT 990", NOAA News, November 2, 1999.] she put her sidescan sonar to use and discovered the debris field of the crash on the ocean bottom on her first surveying pass, only 12 hours after arriving. After only a day of search operations, however, a gale with 50-knot (58-mph; 93-km/h) winds and {{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} seas forced Whiting and U.S. Navy survey ships in the area to return early on 3 November to Newport, where Whiting's crew compared their survey data with data collected by U.S. Navy ships.[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s313.htm Anonymous, "BAD WEATHER HAMPERS NOAA SHIP WHITING EGYPTAIR SEARCH", NOAA News, November 3, 1999.] A break in the weather allowed Whiting to return on 5 November to continue her bottom-mapping operations; although she had to suspend mapping operations briefly when the towfish containing her sidescan sonar became entangled in a lobster pot and was damaged, her crew was able to improvise a night repair in difficult weather conditions and put the sonar back into service.[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s315.htm Anonymous, "NOAA SHIP WHITING CONTINUES TO SEARCH FOR EGYPTAIR FLIGHT 990", NOAA News, November 5, 1999.] Whiting{{'}}s bottom map combined with charts provided by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey allowed the U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship {{USS|Grapple|ARS-53}} to anchor safely over the debris field without disturbing the wreckage. Having completed her Egyptair Flight 990 work and turned over continued mapping and search operations to U.S. Navy remotely operated vehicles, Whiting departed Naval Station Newport on 11 November 1999 to return to her home port at Norfolk, Virginia.[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s321.htm Anonymous, "NOAA COMPLETES ITS MISSION IN EGYPTAIR 990 INVESTIGATION", NOAA News, November 16, 1999.][http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/nr/pdf/jan2000.pdf Chartuk, Robert, "NOAA Team Responds to Egyptair Crash," NOAA Report, January 2000, pp. 3, 6.][http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s321.htm noaa.gov NOAA News: "NOAA COMPLETES ITS MISSION IN EGYPTAIR 990 INVESTIGATION," November 16, 1999.][http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/disaster_response/#egypt Disaster Response: NOAA Ships, Planes, and Officers Offer Valuable Capabilities: Egypt Air Flight 990 Plane Crash: October 31, 1999]

File:USS S-5 (S-110) wreck sonar image.jpg, made in late July 2001 when Whiting discovered the wreck's exact location for the first time.]]

In July 2001, NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration asked Whiting to search for the wreck of the U.S. Navy submarine {{USS|S-5|SS-110}}, which sank {{convert|15|nmi|km|abbr=off}} off Cape May, New Jersey, in September 1920. Whiting, which had just completed a summer in port at Norfolk, Virginia, and was bound for Boston, Massachusetts, to conduct hydrographic survey operations in New England, paused off Cape May in late July 2001 to search for the wreck. Whiting's survey department approached the project as it would any typical hydrographic survey. Information on snags – obstructions on the ocean bottom that snarl fishing nets and gear – that local recreational fishermen had reported and reports of possible locations of the wreck from divers that had visited it provided Whiting with possible targets for her search. After her crew had prepared a plan for a systematic search, Whiting moved from target cluster to target cluster, mapping the ocean bottom using sidescan sonar. After eight hours of searching, Whiting found the wreck of S-5 directly over one of the suspected targets, made a sonar image of the wreck, and recorded its exact location. Whiting then made several more passes over the wreck to acquire additional images of it at various angles before leaving the scene. NOAA donated the sonar data NOAAS Whiting gathered to the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut, for archiving and display.[http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/projects/01s5/finding/finding.html Weirich, Jeremy B., LTJG, "How the NOAA Ship Whiting Found the USS S-Five," oceanexplorer.noaa.gov, undated.]

Whiting made her final cruise in NOAA service in 2002, when she deployed to the United States Virgin Islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southeast coast of the United States in support of homeland security and nautical charting. She returned in November 2002, bringing an end to 39 years of service.

Finding the aging Whiting no longer economical to operate, NOAA decommissioned her on 2 May 2003. NOAA replaced her with the survey ship NOAAS Thomas Jefferson (S 222).Wertheim, p. 1008.

File:ARM Rio Tuxpan (BI-12).jpg at Town Point Park in Norfolk, Virginia, on 28 April 2005, the day of her transfer to Mexico and commissioning into Mexican Navy service.]]

After Whiting was decommissioned, the United States Congress authorized her transfer to Mexico with the stipulation that Mexico employ her in supporting the hydrographic activities of the United States-Mexico Cooperative Charting Advisory Committee so as to enhance cooperation between the United States and Mexico in surveying and charting the border waters of both countries in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly, by the authority of the United States Secretary of Commerce, Whiting was transferred to Mexico in a ceremony at Norfolk, Virginia, on 28 April 2005. Mexico immediately commissioned her into service in the Mexican Navy as ARM Río Tuxpan (BI-12), Mexico{{'}}s first dedicated hydrographic survey ship.[http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2431.htm noaa.gov NOAA News: "NOAA Transfers Mapping Ship to Mexican Navy," May 3, 2005.] In 2023 the ship was renamed ARM Amealco (BI-07).{{cite web |title=Acuerdos Secretariales para Unidades de Superficie |url=https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/801169/periodicoENERO2023.pdf |publisher=Armada de Mexico |access-date=22 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222210631/https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/801169/periodicoENERO2023.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2024 |language=es |date=January 2023 |url-status=live}}

• NOAA ships and aircraft

{{reflist}}

• [https://archive.org/stream/shipsofnoaafleet00rock/shipsofnoaafleet00rock_djvu.txt Ships of the NOAA Fleet, Rockville, Maryland: United States Department of Commerce, June 1989]
• Wertheim, Eric. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 15th Edition: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-59114-955-2}}.

{{Pierce class survey ship}}

{{Combatant ship classes of the Mexican Navy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiting (S 329)}}

Category:Ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Category:Ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey

Category:Research vessels of the United States

Category:Survey ships

Category:Ships built in Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Category:1962 ships

Category:Research vessels of the Mexican Navy