NOAAS Miller Freeman: Difference between revisions

|Ship flag={{USN flag|1967}} [[File:Flag of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.pngsvg|55px]]

|Ship name=BCFUS FWS ''Miller Freeman''

|Ship identification=[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]] WTDM

|Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|6621636}}

'''NOAAS ''Miller Freeman'' (R 223)''' was an American [[Fishery|fisheries]] and [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] [[research vessel]] that was in commission in the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) fleet from 1975 to 2013. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]{{'}}s Bureau of Commercial Fisheries from 1967 to 1970 as '''BCFUS FWS ''Miller Freeman'''''.

[[File:NOAAS Miller Freeman (R 223) launching.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The [[American Shipbuilding Company]] [[Ship naming and launching|launches]] ''Miller Freeman'' at [[Lorain, Ohio|Lorain]], [[Ohio]], on 2 April 1966.]][[File:RV Miller Freeman in 1967.jpg|200px|left|thumb|''Miller Freeman'' in [[Lake Erie]] off [[Ohio]] just after her completion in 1967.]]''Miller Freeman'' was designed in 1965 to meet the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries{{'}} need for a large vessel for [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] research and the open-ocean investigation of fisheries.<ref name="afsc">[http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/history/vessels/boats/freeman.htm AFSC Historical Corner: Miller Freeman, Research Trawler from 1967 to 2013]</ref> She was built for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the [[American Shipbuilding Company]] in [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]], [[Ohio]].<ref name="characteristics">[http://www.moc.noaa.gov/mf/specs/general.html NOAA Ship ''Miller Freeman'' General Characteristics]</ref> She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 2 April 1966<ref>[http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/ship0332.htm Launching of the MILLER FREEMAN at 11:30 A.M. on April 2, 1966.]</ref> and delivered in June 1967,<ref name="characteristics"/> and she was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into service into the Fish and Wildlife Service{{'}}s Bureau of Commercial Fisheries as '''BCFUS FWS ''Miller Freeman'''''.

When completed in 1967, ''Miller Freeman'' was the largest research ship in the history of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and its ancestor organizations,<ref name="afsc"/> and she remained one of the largest research [[Commercial trawler|trawlers]] in the United States throughout her career.<ref name="characteristics">[http://www.moc.noaa.gov/mf/apr_2004_mf_specs.pdf Specifications: MILLER FREEMAN]</ref> Her stern-ramp configuration allowed her to conduct [[trawling]] operations in deep-sea waters.<ref name="afsc"/>

''Miller Freeman'' had two [[Crane (machine)|cranes]] with a maximum lifting capacity of 8,500 pounds (3,856 [[Kilogram|kg]]) and a third crane with a lifting capacity of {{convert|2,750 pounds (1,247&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}. She had three [[A-frame]]s; one of them is a {{convert|29.5-foot (9-meter)|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} trawl [[Gantry crane|gantry]] and the other two are {{convert|14.5-foot (4.4-meter)|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} Oceo A-frames. She also had twelve [[winch]]es, one with a maximum safe working load of {{convert|40,000 pounds (18,144&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, one with a maximum safe working load of {{convert|23,000 pounds (10,433&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, two with maximum safe working loads of {{convert|22,000 pounds (9,979&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, two with maximum safe working loads of {{convert|18,000 pounds (8,165&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, one with a maximum safe working load of {{convert|3,550 pounds (1,610&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, two with maximum safe working loads of {{convert|3,300 pounds (1,497&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}, and two with maximum safe working loads of {{convert|1,150 pounds (522&nbsp;|lb|kg)}}.<ref name="characteristics"/>

''Miller Freeman'' had various [[laboratory]] capabilities, including s 300-[[Square foot|square-foot]] (sq.-ft.) (27.9-[[Square meter|square-meter]]) (m²) [[wet laboratory]], a 300-sq.-ft. (27.9-m²) fish-processing laboratory, a 240-sq.-ft. (22.3-m²) rough laboratory, a 170-sq.-ft. (15.8-m²) ocean [[ocean chemistry]] laboratory, and a 152-sq.-ft.(14.1-m²) [[acoustics]] laboratory. She also had a 220-sq.ft. (20.4-m²) [[data plot]] room and a 50-sq.-ft. (4.6-m²) [[Salinometer|autosalinomater]] room.<ref name="characteristics"/> She was outfitted with a large live-tank system which allowed scientists to sustain live sea specimens under pressure aboard ship.<ref name="afsc"/>

''Miller Freeman'' carried three boats: a {{convert|26-foot (7.9-meter)|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} Hammerhead Munson Launch with a capacity of nine people, a 185-[[horsepower]] (138-[[Kilowatt|kW]]) motor and a top speed of 21 [[Knot (speed)|knots]]; a five-person [[rigid-hulled inflatable boat]] with a 130-horsepower (97-kW) Hamilton jet inboard motor capable of {{convert|40 [[miles per hour]] (64&nbsp;|mph|km/hr)h}}; and a {{convert|15-foot (4.6-meter)|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} [[Zodiac Marine & Pool|Zodiac]] inflatable boat with a 25-horsepower (18.6-kW) [[outboard motor]].<ref name="characteristics"/>

Operated by NOAA{{'}}s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations after her recommissioning with her home port at Seattle, [[Washington (state)|Washington]], ''Miller Freeman''{{'}}s primary mission was to provide a working platform for the study of the ocean's living resources, operating primarily in the [[North Pacific Ocean]] and Bering Sea.<ref name="characteristics"/><ref name="noaamoc"/><ref>[http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/foci/freeman/freeman.shtml NOAA Ship ''Miller Freeman'' Images and Real-Time Data]</ref> After returning to service, she spent much of the remainder of 1975 conducting work in the [[Gulf of Alaska]] and Bering Sea in support of the NOAA [[Offshore Continental Shelf Survey and Assessment Program]], primarily carrying out resource surveys for the [[Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction Program]] (MARMAP). Her research activities were interrupted on 22 October 1975, when the [[United States Coast Guard]] asked her to assist the [[Crab fisheries|crabbing]] vessel ''Aquarian'', which had lost her steering while operating in the [[Aleutian Islands]]. Despite the rough seas in 40- to 60-knot (74- to 111-km/hrh) winds, ''Miller Freeman''{{'}}s crew managed to get a line across to ''Aquarian'' and tow her to [[Akutan Island]], ending a two-day ordeal for ''Aquarian''{{'}}s crew.<ref name="afsc"/>

[[Category:Research vesselsShips of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]