Bellingham boat-builder lands contract to build research vessel for nearby waters
Bellingham boat manufacturer All American Marine has landed a federal contract to build a catamaran focused on research in nearby waters.
The company will build a 50-foot vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Once completed by next summer, the NOAA boat will be used for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and carry up to 18 passengers.
The vessel will host a variety of research missions and visiting scientists concentrating on seafloor mapping, habitat characterization, data collection, and the monitoring of the health of ocean species and marine wildlife, said Ron Wille, All American Marine’s business development manager, in an email.
“All American Marine worked diligently with Teknicraft to design a flexible platform that could quickly and easily be reconfigured depending on the current mission. This feature was critical for NOAA’s research purposes,” Wille said.
All American Marine has built a variety of vessels for NOAA over the years, including the R/V Auk, R/V Shearwater and R/V Fulmar.
The Bellingham company is busy with other projects, including building the SWITCH Maritime Zero Emissions Hydrogen Powered E-Ferry and a quad waterjet tour boat for Major Marine Tours.
Wille said it is a challenging time to secure more projects because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some tour boat businesses, including in Alaska, have completely halted operations for the season.
