The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently broke ground at the site of a new marine operations center at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.
Partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the facility will host the Marine Operations Center-Atlantic and is expected to open in 2017, NOAA said Monday.
NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said the center will secure Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and “will soon be the homeport for one of our newest, lower-emissions vessels, working towards the goal to minimize NOAA’s own impact on the environment.”
The center will include a pier able to accommodate four large vessels and feature space for ship repairs and parking, a floating dock for smaller vessels and a building for shoreside support.
New York-based construction and development company Skanska will build the facility under a $146.8 million contract awarded in December 2023.
The new base will support NOAA’s Atlantic fleet, which collects data necessary to protect marine life, understand climate change, manage commercial fisheries and produce nautical charts.
