Construction, U.S. Navy Career, and Acquisition
Thomas Jefferson was laid down as the United States Navy hydrographic survey vessel USNS Littlehales (T-AGS-52) on October 25, 1989, by Halter Marine, Inc., at Moss Point, Mississippi. Launched on February 14, 1991, she was delivered to the Navy on January 10, 1992. She served in non-commissioned status in the Military Sealift Command and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on February 27, 2003.
Littlehales was transferred to NOAA on March 3, 2003. She was commissioned into the NOAA Atlantic Fleet as NOAAS Thomas Jefferson (S 222) on July 8, 2003 at Norfolk, Virginia, as a replacement for the NOAA survey ship NOAAS Whiting (S 329). Thomas Jefferson's home port is Norfolk.
Read more about this topic: NOAAS Thomas Jefferson (S 222)
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