NOAA breaks ground on research ship pier renovations

Written by Nick Blenkey

Phoyo: NOAA

NOAA officials and regional partners have broken ground on renovations to its North Charleston, S.C., pier. The pier renovations will include demolishing and building a new pier that includes shoreside power for ships, as well as a warehouse, sea wall and living shoreline, and other supporting infrastructure. These and other facility upgrades will allow NOAA ships Ronald H. Brown and Nancy Foster to once again have a designated place to dock and better accommodate research missions in the Atlantic. Both ships are homeported in Charleston.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.

pier after pier renovations — *Conceptual rendering of new NOAA ship pier and other improvements at the agency’s pier facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. [Image: Manson Construction Design/Build Team*]

In September 2023, NOAA awarded $59.8 million to Manson Construction Company for the renovations. This important pier renovation infrastructure project is partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act

“Many of NOAA’s investments in infrastructure over the next several years are made possible because of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Investing in our shoreside infrastructure helps NOAA meet essential at-sea data collection requirements that support enhanced economic security, public safety and homeland security for many years to come.”

“This pier and facility are integral to safe and efficient research ship operations in the area,” said NOAA Corps Vice Adm. (select) Nancy Hann, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. “Our ships cannot efficiently complete their critical work without safe and reliable shoreside infrastructure.”

NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships are operated, managed and maintained by NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. The fleet ranges from large oceanographic research vessels capable of exploring the world’s deepest ocean, to smaller ships responsible for charting the shallow bays and inlets of the U.S. The vessels support a wide range of marine activities, including fisheries surveys, nautical charting and ocean and climate studies. NOAA ships are operated by NOAA Corps officers and civilian professional mariners.