NOAAS Bell M. Shimada

NOAAS Bell M. Shimada underway on 22 September 2009.
History
United States
Name	NOAAS Bell M. Shimada (R 227)
Namesake	Bell M. Shimada (1922-1958), American fisheries scientist
Operator	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Builder	Halter Marine, Inc., Moss Point, Mississippi
Laid down	15 June 2007
Launched	26 September 2008
Acquired	21 January 2010 (delivered)
Commissioned	25 August 2010
Homeport	Newport, Oregon
Identification	Call letters: WTED IMO number: 9349069 MMSI number: 369970147
Status	Active in NOAA Pacific Fleet
General characteristics
Class and type	Oscar Dyson-class fisheries research ship
Displacement	1,840 metric tons (light ship) 2,479 metric tons (full load)
Length	208.6 ft (63.6 m)
Beam	49.2 ft (15.0 m)
Draft	19.4 ft (5.9 m) (with centerboard up) 29.7 ft (9.1 m) (with centerboard down)
Propulsion	TECO Westinghouse diesel-electric
Speed	14.0 knots (26 km/h) (maximum) 11 knots (20 km/h) (cruising)
Range	12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km)
Endurance	40 days
Boats & landing craft carried	1 x 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) rescue boat
Complement	24 (5 NOAA Corps officers, 4 licensed engineers, and 15 other crew members), plus up to 15 scientists

NOAAS Bell M. Shimada (R 227) is an American fisheries research ship in commission with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since 2010. She operates along the United States West Coast.

The ship was named by students at Marina High School in Marina, California, who won a NOAA vessel-naming contest held as part of an educational outreach program. The ship's namesake, Bell M. Shimada (1922-1958), served with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, and was known for his studies of tropical Pacific tuna stocks.^[1]