People of R/V Endeavor: Daniel Alexander

June 23, 2026

Port Engineer

Daniel Alexander facing the camera outside on a pier. He is wearing a hat and cool weather clothing.
Daniel Alexander on the Narragansett Bay Campus pier.

Staying Current

Since 2011, I’ve been port engineer for R/V Endeavor. My job is to keep the ship operating properly, oversee maintenance and upgrades, prepare and plan for inspections, keep the machinery running, oversee dry docking, and make sure the ship stays American Bureau of Shipping certified. Now that Endeavor has re-located to Brownsville, Texas, I have plenty of time to look over the design of Narragansett Dawn and understand her new capabilities.

Originally from Long Island, my brother Tom and I both went to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. and graduated in 1973 and 1978, respectively. Soon after, we worked on a group of five liquefied natural gas tankers and brought them to Newport. And that was how we ended up in Rhode Island

Then in 1986, the Narragansett Café in Jamestown came up for sale and we decided to buy it. By then my brother had started the Lightship Group, a marine engineering firm in North Kingstown. In true Rhode Island fashion, I “knew a guy” who told me about a position as Relief Chief Engineer on the Weatherbird II out of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, so I applied and was hired. It helped me keep up my sea time for certifications. My brother and I both continued running the bar while also being employed in the marine field. I worked on the Knorr, Oceanus, and Endeavor and later Atlantic Explorer, the ship that replaced Weatherbird II.

In 2008, we sold Jamestown Café and I was looking for a full-time marine-related job. In 2011, GSO’s Marine Superintendent Sam De Bow was leaving and Tom Glennon, GSO’s port engineer, was moving up to marine superintendent. Tom asked me to come on as port engineer.

Endeavor had one engine, a locomotive engine, and by 2014 it had enough hours on it that it was due for a major overhaul. I did an “in place” engine rebuild, replacing or cleaning each piece. That timing was good, because the National Science Foundation (the owner of Endeavor) had at the time money to fund the rebuild. Endeavor’s engine has been stellar ever since.

Dan Alexander on a pier during a sunny day. He is securing a large rope from the research vessel Endeavor to a cleat on the pier.
Alexander securing Endeavor to the pier.

I’m looking forward to working on Narragansett Dawn. Think about all the improvements between 1976 and now! Endeavor was operated with a computer that is a programmable logic controller which has “data in and data out.” Narragansett Dawn will have a computerized maintenance management system, a software package that monitors the ship and logs information. It will also have an industrial marine computer, an autonomous system designed to run the ship. These new systems will tell you if anything is wrong and help you trouble shoot. Of course, cybersecurity is crucial.

Even with these computer systems, the ship can’t run and carry out science without the crew. As we transfer to a new ship, the most important thing is that we get to keep the crew. Endeavor’s crew are people who know and trust each other, and that is the most essential part of the new ship.