June 20, 2025 — NOAA has awarded $95,408,666 to JAG Alaska Inc. from Seward, Alaska, to complete expanded upgrades and maintenance on NOAA’s fisheries survey vessel Oscar Dyson. Following the 2026 field season, the ship will go into a year-long maintenance period.
NOAA is working to maximize the service life of each of its vessels through long-term maintenance planning and tracking. The goal of this forward-looking maintenance is to provide up-to-date, dependable vessels for NOAA’s scientists and science partners. NOAA anticipates that the Oscar Dyson will be available for service in time for the 2028 field season.
“These upgrades will help the ship continue to meet the needs of the nation in primarily Alaskan and Arctic waters well into the future,” NOAA Corps Rear Adm. Chad Cary, director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, said in a statement announcing the maintenance contract. “Modernizing the shipboard technology will improve the Dyson’s fuel efficiency and operational safety, while ensuring that future research performed by the Dyson continues to be second to none.”