MV ''Carolyn Chouest'' is a chartered support ship for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

that was originally assigned to the

Special Missions Program Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

to support ''NR-1'', the deep submergence craft. She towed ''NR-1'' between work areas, served as a floating supply warehouse and provided quarters for extra crew until the ''NR-1'' was removed from service in 2008. Since the 2010s the ship has been used to support American special forces units in the Pacific region.

Operational history

In 1995, Dr.

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...

used the ''Carolyn Chouest'' and its sub the ''NR-1'', to explore the wreck of , the sister ship of , which sank off the coast of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

while serving as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. November 1999, ''Carolyn Chouest'' assisted recovery efforts after the

EgyptAir Flight 990 EgyptAir Flight 990 (MS990/MSR990) was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cairo International Airport, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-3 ...

airplane crash south of

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. She provided underwater mapping of the debris field using the side-scan sonar and recorded underwater video of the site with the ROV ''Magnum''. February 2002, ''NR-1'' and ''Carolyn Chouest'' helped archeologists to chart the , the Navy's first ironclad warship, as she rests below the sea. October 2004, ''Carolyn Chouest'' helped tow back to

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

, after a fire on board the Canadian submarine killed one crewman and injured two, off

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. December 2006, the fast-attack submarine, resurfaced during sea trials after a 25-year-old

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

employee began having neurological problems. He was safely transferred to ''Carolyn Chouest'' and continued to receive treatment from ''Pittsburgh''s

corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...

until evacuated by a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

helicopter. March 2007, ''NR-1'' and ''Carolyn Chouest'' under the direction of oceanographer

began mapping the

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) is a United States National Marine Sanctuary located offshore of Galveston, Texas, in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. It contains the northernmost coral reefs in the United States. Und ...

to help scientists determine where early Americans might have lived when, at the height of the last ice age, sea levels were nearly lower than they are today.

References

External links

* *

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

br>Special Mission Program

Research vessels of the United States Rescue and salvage ships of the United States Navy {{US-mil-ship-stub