NOAA Breaks Ground On Renovations To Pier Facility In North Charleston, South Carolina

In September 2023, NOAA awarded $59.8 million to Manson Construction Company for the renovations. This important infrastructure project is partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

The renovations will include demolishing and building a new pier that includes shoreside power for ships, as well as a warehouse, sea wall, living shoreline and other supporting infrastructure. Reconstruction of the pier and other facility upgrades that support EO 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability. This project will enable NOAA ships Ronald H. Brown and Nancy Foster to have a designated place to dock and better accommodate NOAA research missions in the Atlantic. Both ships are homeported in Charleston.

NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships are operated, managed and maintained by NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. The fleet ranges from large oceanographic research vessels capable of exploring the world’s deepest ocean, to smaller ships responsible for charting the shallow bays and inlets of the U.S. The vessels support a wide range of marine activities, including fisheries surveys, nautical charting and ocean and climate studies. NOAA ships are operated by NOAA Corps officers and civilian professional mariners.