Port Facilities and Operations

External site: https://marineops.gso.uri.edu/

Research Vessel Pier

This is a view of the new pier looking east toward Narragansett Bay, with the Research Vessel Endeavor, in the background.

The pier at the Narragansett Bay Campus provides support services to research vessels and full access to Narragansett Bay. The original wooden pier, built in 1963, had more than exceeded its designed service life and was unable to accommodate the new, 199-foot-long R/V Narragansett Dawn, which is due to arrive in 2024. This project demolished the original pier and erected a larger, more capable, steel-and-concrete pier in its place.

Read more about the new pier at GSO

Marine Logistics Support Facility

New 4,300 square-foot Marine Logistics Support Facility on Pier Road.
New 4,300 square-foot Marine Logistics Support Facility on Pier Road.

Marine operations and facilities to support Endeavor continue to improve. A new 4,300 square-foot Marine Logistics Support Facility accommodates extra equipment and spare parts as well as space for repairs and maintenance and Endeavor also benefits from major upgrades to its docking facilities. The ship’s popularity with scientists who repeatedly book Endeavor for cruises is attributed extremely low turnover among its skilled crew and marine technicians. Consequently their high familiarity with Endeavor’s marine operations for pre-cruise planning and post-cruise activities, as well as the equipment and instrumentation required for multidisciplinary shipboard science operations, makes Endeavor one of the most requested research platforms in the academic fleet.


RV Endeavor 

As one of the premier vessels of its class, Endeavor continues to undergo periodic modernization and modification to handle the demands of today’s complex marine science projects. Endeavor passes inspections every two years and is dry-docked twice every five years for more thorough maintenance of essential systems, both operational and safety-related. Thanks to a rigorous series of inspections and maintenance sessions, Endeavor is certified for operations through the year 2024. Recent high bandwidth satellite transmission and receiver equipment installed aboard Endeavor connects ship- and shore-based scientists with at-sea operations through telepresence capabilities of GSO’s Inner Space Center.

Visit the Marine Operations website for detailed information about Endeavor’s ship and science facilities, cruise planning, safety and standard procedures and other relevant policies.


Marine Technicians Group

The Marine Technician Group is responsible for supporting the science conducted from the Endeavor. Personnel in this group include four Marine Technicians and a fiscal clerk. The Director of Marine Operations is the primary contact for science support, equipment and instrumentation, cruise logistics and fiscal management of the group. At least one Marine Technician sails on every Endeavor cruise maintaining, calibrating and operating a broad range of equipment and instruments, pre-cruise staging and post-cruise activities. The fiscal clerk assists with fiscal and personnel management, purchasing and travel.

Meet two of our GSO Marine Techs: