Contact Information
Address:
439 West York Street
Marine Operations Center, Atlantic
Norfolk, VA 23510-1145
United StatesPhone:
843-693-2082
NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown is aglobal-class oceanographic and atmospheric research platform. With its highly advanced instruments and sensors, the ship travels worldwide supporting scientific studies to increase our understanding of climate and the ocean.
Primarily deployed in support of NOAAâs Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the ship supports scientific studies to increase our understanding of the relationship between the world's oceans and climate. The shipâs combined atmospheric and oceanographic sampling capability allows scientists to observe dynamics at sea, and to determine how those dynamics affect climate and global weather patterns. At 274 ft., Ronald H. Brown is largest vessel in the NOAA fleet.
Homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned in 1997, the ship is named to honor the late Ronald H. Brown, the first African American to serve as Secretary of Commerce. Brown made it his mission to generate jobs and provide opportunities for ordinary Americans â and he was an ardent supporter of the NOAA fleet. He was killed in a plane crash on April 3, 1996, while on a trade mission to Bosnia.