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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

2008 Rose Festival: OSV Bold

IMG_0809 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The Environmental Protection Agency's Ocean Survey Vessel Bold was in Portland from May 26 to 31, 2008.

IMG_0810 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The OSV Bold was built by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company as the USNS Vigorous, a Stalwart-class Tactical Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance Ship (T-AGOS).

IMG_0814 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The USNS Vigorous was launched and placed in service in 1989, and was later renamed the USNS Bold.

IMG_0802 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The Stalwart-class ships were used to tow the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS), a towed array passive SONAR system used for long-range detection and monitoring of enemy submarines.

IMG_0803 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

Though owned by the U.S. Navy, the Stalwart-class ships were not commissioned ships and were crewed by civilians.

IMG_0804 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The Bold was struck from the Naval register on March 3, 2004, and was transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of the month.

IMG_0805 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The EPA converted the Bold into an Ocean Survey Vessel and placed it in service on August 8, 2005.

IMG_0806 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat on the OSV Bold

The OSV Bold is 224 feet long and 43 feet wide, with a displacement of 2300 tons. It can reach a top speed of 11 knots and has an operating crew of 19 plus a scientific crew of 20.

IMG_0807 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The captain of the Bold under the EPA also served as captain when the ship served the U.S. Navy.

IMG_0808 OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The Bold's 2008 trip to the Pacific Northwest was its first trip to the west coast as an EPA ocean survey vessel. In the month of June, the Bold would be conducting a survey of disposal sites along the Oregon Coast for dredged materials from the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. In July, it would be traveling to Skagway, Alaska to study the impacts of treated wastewater discharges from cruise ships. In August, the Bold would study Puget Sound to determine levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Dioxin in the sediment and dissolved oxygen and nitrogenous nutrient concentrations in the water. After working on the California coast in September, the Bold would return to the east coast.

IMG_0780 Crewmember aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Crewmember aboard the OSV Bold

On the fantail, a crewmember shows some of the equipment the scientists aboard the OSV Bold use, including sampling equipment, SONAR towfish and remote operated vehicles, or ROVs.

IMG_0781 Sediment Sampling Devices aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Sediment Sampling Devices on the OSV Bold

These two devices are used to collect sediment samples from the ocean floor.

IMG_0779 Klein System 3000 Side-Scan SONAR Tow-Fish aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Klein System 3000 side-scan SONAR tow-fish on the OSV Bold

This is a Klein System 3000 side-scan SONAR tow-fish. It is towed in the water behind the ship a certain distance above the bottom and creates a topographic map of the river bottom or ocean floor. Lower altitudes give greater detail, but a shorter scanning distance. The tow-fish only scans to the side, so it doesn't show what is directly below it. This is somewhat similar to the equipment the Bold used to detect submarines when it worked for the Navy.

IMG_0782 Phantom HD ROV aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Deep Ocean Engineering Phantom HD ROV on the OSV Bold

The Deep Ocean Engineering Phantom HD is an older-style of camera-equipped Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). Though still used, it has been largely replaced by newer, smaller ROV's.

IMG_0784 Video-Ray ROV aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Crewmember with Video-Ray ROV on the OSV Bold

Another crewmember is showing off a newer Video-Ray ROV with its control unit.

IMG_0786 Crewmember with Video-Ray ROV aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Crewmember with Video-Ray ROV on the OSV Bold

IMG_0785 Video-Ray ROV aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Video-Ray ROV on the OSV Bold

This is the type of small ROV that has largely replaced larger ones like the Phantom.

IMG_0787 Video-Ray ROV aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Video-Ray ROV on the OSV Bold

IMG_0788 CTD Water Sampling Device aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
CTD Water Sampling Device on the OSV Bold

This device is called a CTD, which stands for Conductivity, Temperature, Depth, which it measures through a series of sensors at the bottom. The vertical tanks are used to collect water samples at various depths to bring aboard the ship for further analysis.

IMG_0791 Computer Screens aboard the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Crewmember Demonstrating Computers on the OSV Bold

In this photograph, a crew member is demonstrating some of the computers. The screen on the left shows the results of a SONAR scan from a towfish like the one on deck. The joystick is used to control large ROVs like the Phantom.

IMG_0793 Bridge of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Bridge of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

This is the Bridge of the OSV Bold. The wheel in the middle of the control panel is the helm.

IMG_0798 Bridge of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Bridge of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

The Second Mate is shown talking about Bridge Operations.

IMG_0800 Bow of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Bow of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

These pictures show the bow of the OSV Bold from the bridge.

IMG_0801 Bow of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Bow of the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008

IMG_0799 Communication & Radar Tower on the OSV Bold in Portland, Oregon on May 30, 2008
Communications & Radar Tower on the OSV Bold

Here is a closeup of the OSV Bold's communications & radar tower.

In 2013, the OSV Bold was acquired by Seattle Central Community College for $5,000.

For information, visit the old EPA website for the OSV Bold.

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