A research vessel is here to conduct modern hydrographic surveys and update the nautical charts of the waters from Port Angeles to Port Townsend and north to Bellingham, including the San Juan Islands.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Rainier departed Kodiak, Alaska on Oct. 20 and arrived in Jefferson County waters early last week.

The 232-foot Rainier is used to measure ocean depths over an area covering about 22 square nautical miles, mostly near Protection Island and Lopez Island, for updating nautical charts.

The NOAA ship Fairweather was in the area earlier this year doing similar work on what is a multi-year research project.

"This survey project area is a critical priority for updating the charts, since it is in the vicinity of three, high-density traffic lanes separated by shoal areas and is frequently transited by large commercial vessels traveling both north to Cherry Point and Vancouver, British Columbia and south to Tacoma and Seattle," said Dawn Forsythe, communications specialist with NOAA Office of Coast Survey.

NOAA’s is the nation’s chartmaker (since the 1830s), and the Rainier is one of the ships dedicated to hydrographic surveys for chartmaking and other uses, Forsythe said. Updates are for chart 18465 and chart 18471, as well as the corresponding electronic navigational chart.

"If the ship's multibeam echo sounder discovers any dangers to navigation, we will immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard and the information will be relayed to ships and boaters through a Notice to Mariners," Forsythe noted.

The majority of survey work is conducted aboard four 29-foot aluminum launches, not the research ship itself, said Commander Edward J. Vandenameele, commanding officer of NOAA ship Rainier. Each launch is equipped with a high-resolution multibeam echo sounder.

"We deploy them in the morning to survey, and retrieve them in the evening," Vandeameele told the Leader.

The last surveys of this area were conducted between 1940 and 1969, according to NOAA.

"Since the data is old, this area would normally be on our priority list, but since we are responsible for charting 3.4 million square nautical miles of U.S. coastal waters, we allocate survey resources first to areas that are critical for navigation," Vandenameele said Oct. 30.

"We have made this area a priority because the waterways of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are critical waterways with pristine environments that are also critical for marine transportation, recreation, and national security and defense," he noted.

The Rainier "took shelter" inside Discovery Bay on Oct. 27-28 due to stormy weather, Vandenameele noted, but generally would be anchored closer to the search area.

The Rainier has a crew of 50. The next port of call is Seattle, slated for Nov. 6. Vandenameele said the vessel may also have an opportunity to visit Port Angeles or Port Townsend.