NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson

For the first time since 2022, the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is underway in the Great Lakes! The vessel and its crew of NOAA Corps officers and professional mariners are working with NOAA scientists to map the waters of western and central Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario this year to improve navigation safety. Read more about it here!

NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson returns to the Great Lakes NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson returns to the Great Lakes. Survey work will map areas for the first time since the 1940s

After a long winter in port, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is underway for the 2026 field season! The ship had an icy transit while making its way through the St. Lawrence Seaway. The ship hosted Canadian pilots to help navigate foreign waters while the rest of the crew worked to ensure the ship and our survey launch boats were ready for action in the Great Lakes!

NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Operations Center Expands Environmental Observation Footprint | Office of Marine and Aviation Operations In 2025, NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Operations Center funded six projects totaling roughly $10.1 million to increase the reliability, capacity, efficiency and safety of NOAA missions through the use of uncrewed systems.

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After 23 years of dedicated service, we're bidding a fond farewell and following seas to our Chief Steward, Susan Parker. Mrs. Parker's career began in the relief pool as a second cook on NOAA Ship Hiʻialakai. Through her hard work and commitment, she rose to become Chief Steward for NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson. We'll deeply miss her one-of-a-kind personality and her incredible cooking, especially our favorite, Mongolian Night! We wish her nothing but the best in her well-deserved retirement!

Congratulations to Ensign Hicks for getting his Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway qualification! Ensign Hicks transferred from NOAA Ship Ronald Brown midway through this field season. He showed dedication and hard work learning the ins and outs of NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson. He is now qualified to stand his own bridge watch and mentor other Junior Officers. It's a longstanding tradition to recover Oscar, the ship's dedicated mariner overboard, during your OOD board. As you can see, his ceremonial letter got a little weathered during operations, but his official letter has made it to his portfolio with all his other qualifications. Bravo Zulu Ensign Hicks!

Congratulations to Ensign Beaz for getting her Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway qualification! Getting OOD qualified is a pivotal step in a Junior Officer's career. An OOD holds more responsibility during their watch, and provides mentorship for junior OOD's as they work to get qualified. To be designated a qualified OOD Underway, the officer must have demonstrated thorough knowledge of watch standing responsibilities, proficiency in ship handling, and efficient maritime communication. Bravo Zulu ENS Beaz!!

Dual DriX operations are underway! NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson is conducting hydrographic survey operations off the coast of Savannah, Ga. NOAA uncrewed vessels DriX 12 and DriX 23 are both deployed and surveying autonomously in tandem with NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson. With the help of these nautical drones, surveys can be completed with a much higher efficiency to keep nautical charts up to date. This is the first time both vessels have been deployed from the ship together and the last time this area was surveyed was with lead lines!