''Thomas Washington'' (T-AGOR-10) was a ''Robert D. Conrad''-class

oceanographic research ship Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

delivered to the

U.S. 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 of ...

in 1965. The ship was owned by the Navy but assigned to the

Scripps Institute of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public serv ...

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

and operated as R/V''Thomas Washington'' from delivery to inactivation.The ship was part of the national academic research fleet and unlike the Navy operated ships of the type was not commonly referred to as a U.S. Naval Ship (USNS). In September 1992 the ship was sold to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and operated by the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

as ''Vidal Gormaz'' until decommissioned in August 2010 and broken up in 2012.

Construction

''Thomas Washington'' was laid down on 12 September 1963 at

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of the ...

, by the Marinette Marine Corp.; launched on 1 August 1964; sponsored jointly by Misses Barbara E. and Ann H. Washington, granddaughters of Admiral

Thomas Washington Thomas Washington (6 June 1865 – 15 December 1954) was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War I. Early life and career Thomas Washington and his brother Richard were twin of Virginia and her farmer husband R.A. Washington, both ...

; and delivered to the Navy on 17 September 1965. The ship was length overall, beam, draft, with a displacement tonnage of 1,490. The diesel-electric engine drove a single propeller for a cruising speed of and a maximum speed of . With a capacity of of diesel oil the ship had a range of at cruising speed. In addition to the main engine the ship had a retractable, trainable, 360 degree bow thruster. The ship was operated with eight officers and fifteen crew with a scientific complement of twenty-two. In addition to a wet laboratory and a dry laboratory the ship had the capability to accommodate two by by vans on deck for extra berthing or instruments. For equipment handling and operation there was an "A" frame of capacity, crane with capacity and three oceanographic/hydrographic winches. In 1967 an IBM 1800 computer, the first of its kind installed in a research vessel, for data acquisition and control was installed allowing data processing at sea rather than after operations with land-based computers. By retirement ''Thomas Washington'' had been equipped with a Furuno shallow water sounding system and for deep sounding both EDO narrow beam and a SeaBeam swath system. The ship had a capability for seismic profiling.

Operation

The ship was assigned to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, of the University of California as one of three such ships operated by academic institutions as parts of the national academic research fleet; the others being R/V ''Robert D. Conrad'' operated by the

Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is the scientific research center of the Columbia Climate School, and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. It focuses on climate and earth sciences and is located on a 189-acre (64 h ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and R/V ''Thomas G. Thompson'' operated by the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. The Navy owned ships operated under the general control of the Oceanographer of the Navy, but were managed by the institutions, with civilian crews, conducting research experiments in support of the national oceanographic programs of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The ship's operation schedule for 1991, its last full operation year, shows the ship operated for a variety of purposes with numerous sponsors.

Inactivation

''Thomas Washington'', reaching the 1992 end of life projection, was inactivated and struck by the Navy 1 August 1992.

Chilean service

The ship was sold to Chile for operation by the Chilean Navy, renamed ''Vidal Gormaz'' for the founder of the Chilean Hydrographic Office, Commodore

Francisco Vidal Gormaz Francisco Vidal Gormaz (July 1, 1837 in Santiago, Chile, Santiago, Chile – February 5, 1907) was a Chilean naval officer and hydrographer who explored the coasts of Chile including some river systems and lakes. During the 1850s he explored and su ...

(1837 - 1907), and commissioned at San Diego, California on 28 September 1992. ''Vidal Gormaz'' arrived at

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

on 3 December 1992. The vessel participated in such research operations as Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere,

World Ocean Circulation Experiment The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was a component of the international World Climate Research Program, and aimed to establish the role of the World Ocean in the Earth's climate system. WOCE's field phase ran between 1990 and 1998, and ...

El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an irregular periodic variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting the climate of much of the tropics and subtropics. The warming phase of the sea te ...

and national Marine Scientific Research Voyages in National Fiords and Oceanic Islands and other Chilean scientific data collection. The ship, designated AGOR-60, was decommissioned by the Chilean Navy on 30 August 2010. She was broken up at Chinquique,

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune spa ...

in 2012.

Footnotes

References

External links

"The Mid-Ocean Ridge" — description in Scientific American of SeaBeam survey aboard ''Thomas Washington''

History of UNOLS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Washington Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ships University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research vessels Ships built by Marinette Marine 1964 ships Scripps Institution of Oceanography Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Chilean Navy Auxiliary ships of the Chilean Navy Auxiliary ships of Chile