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Bell M. Shimada Sets Sail for West Coast

View slideshow The Bell M. Shimada departs from Key West, Florida on May 13, 2010. Flags Tropical temperature and humidity levels Panamanian flag Transducer signal Pilot boat Panama Canal Locks at Gatun Pulling the ship into the lock Crew of line handlers

After many months of construction and preparation, the Bell M. Shimada has begun its journey home.

On May 13, the vessel set sail from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast, where it will complete outfitting, undergo scientific gear trials, and ultimately be commissioned as the newest ship of the NOAA fleet later this year.

The ship recently completed acoustic trials in the Tongue-of-the-Ocean, Bahamas. On the return to Pascagoula, MS to complete the first phase of post-delivery outfitting, the ship was diverted to Key West, FL after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Allen Shimada, son of the ship’s namesake and NOAA Fisheries Headquarters employee, is onboard to participate in trials en route to the West Coast, including acoustic mapping of the Shimada Seamount, a young, isolated volcanic feature located off the coast of Baja California.

The Bell M. Shimada is the fourth in the Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV) class of ships built for NOAA as state-of-the-art, acoustically quieted fisheries research vessels.

Click on the slideshow to see more images of the Bell M. Shimada in transit to the West Coast via the Panama Canal.

The FSV Bell M. Shimada is one of NOAA’s newest state-of-the-art survey research vessels.