The Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) ''Bold'' was operated by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

. Originally commissioned as the USNS ''Vigorous'', it was renamed USNS ''Bold'' (T-AGOS-12) and was a ''Stalwart''-class Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship of the ilitary Sealift Command of the United States Navy, as designated by the "T" preface to her AGOS classification Stalwart class ships were originally designed to collect underwater

acoustical data Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

in support of

Cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

operations in the 1980s. The ship was transferred to the EPA in 2004. The ship is equipped with sidescan sonar, underwater video, water and sediment sampling instruments in study of ocean and coastline. One of the major missions of the ''Bold'' is to monitor sites where materials are dumped from dredging operations in U.S. ports for ecological impact. In 2013, the ''Bold'' was awarded to

Seattle Central Community College Seattle Central College is a public college in Seattle, Washington. With North Seattle College and South Seattle College, it is one of the three colleges that comprise the Seattle Colleges District. The college has a substantial international ...

(SCCC) by the General Services Administration. SCCC demonstrated in a competition that they would put it to the highest and best purpose, and acquired the ship at a cost of $5,000. However, by 2015 SCCC had failed to develop the plans for the BOLD which they had pledged to the GSA to implement and as such GSA placed the ship for sale to the general public. By the middle of the year the ship was auctioned to an undisclosed party who moved the ship to Lake Union Drydock in Seattle for layberthing. The ship has since been placed for sale on eBay for $4M. Image:USNS Bold (T-AGOS-12).jpg, USNS ''Bold'' (T-AGOS-12) at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrativ ...

References

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Stalwart-class ocean surveillance ships Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company 1989 ships Ships of the United States Environmental Protection Agency {{US-mil-ship-stub