USNS Relentless

Gordon Gunter is outfitted for fishing operations employing stern trawling, longlining, plankton tows, dredging, and trap fishing. She is fitted with modern navigation electronics and oceanographic winches, as well as sophisticated sensors and sampling equipment which her crew and embarked scientists use to monitor the atmospheric and oceanic environment, such as a thermosalinograph, a conductivity-temperature-depth instrument (CTD), a fluorometer, and NOAA's Scientific Computer System. Gordon Gunter has a marine mammal observation and survey station located on top of her pilot house and, as an acoustically quieted research vessel, serves as an excellent platform for the study and observation of marine mammals.[2][4][5]

Gordon Gunter has 1,229.5 square feet (sq. ft.) (114.2 square meters) (m²) of mission-dedicated laboratory spaces, including a 360-sq.-ft. (33.4-m²) dry laboratory, a 429-sq.-ft. (39.9-m²) wet laboratory, and a 135-sq.-ft. (12.5-m²) wet laboratory. On deck, she has two hydraulic trawl winches, each with a capacity of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) of ⅝-inch (15-9-mm) or 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) of ¾-inch (19-mm) wire, an electric CTD winch with a capacity of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) of .322" (8.2-mm) electromechanical cable, and an electric winch with a capacity of 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) of .322" (8.2-mm) electromechanical cable [5] She has two 45-foot (14-meter) telescoping booms – one with a lifting capacity of 3,500 pounds (1,588 kg) at an extension of 16.3 feet (5.0 meters) and the other with a lifting capacity of 18,000 pounds (8,200 kg) – as well as a movable A-frame with a lifting capacity of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg), and a movable J-frame with a maximum lifting capacity of 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg).[5]

Gordon Gunter has an ice-strengthened steel hull. She normally carries one 18-foot (5.5-meter) rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) with a 90-horsepower (67-kilowatt) motor and a maximum capacity of four persons.[5]

In addition to her crew of 20, Gordon Gunter can accommodate up to 15 scientists.[5]

From her home port at Pascagoula, Mississippi, Gordon Gunter operates throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, and Caribbean Sea. A multi-use platform, she primarily serves NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Pascagoula Laboratory in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She conducts scientific surveys of the health and abundance of adult and larval commercial and recreational fish, the health and distribution of marine mammals, oceanographic studies, and habitat investigations.[4][5]

Gordon Gunter's first international project, the Windwards Humpback Cruise, took place in the Caribbean Sea. The primary objective of the cruise was to obtain scientific information on humpback whales that was used in a comprehensive assessment by the International Whaling Commission in June 2001, and to support U.S. management requirements for these endangered whales under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Scientists aboard Gordon Gunter used both visual and acoustic techniques to locate humpback whales and other marine mammal species and located many whales by tracking their songs with sonar buoys.[4]

Gordon Gunter supported the Sustainable Seas Expeditions – a five-year project of NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuaries Program and the National Geographic Society carried out between 1998 and 2002 – at several United States national marine sanctuaries. The project featured underwater exploration of the sanctuaries with manned submersible units.[4]

Gordon Gunter has demonstrated mission flexibility through her ability to undergo quick reconfiguration. On one occasion, her after working deck was reconfigured to deploy a weather buoy about 160 miles (255 km) off the Louisiana coast. This mission helped fill a critical data gap in weather information that commercial fishermen, the petroleum industry, and recreational boaters rely upon heavily.[4]