NOAA Leaving Seattle

NOAA) will move its marine operations center-Pacific operations on Lake Union in Seattle â€" and its 175 jobs â€" to Newport, Ore., beginning in 2011. On Tuesday, NOAA officials said the Port of Newport will be the operation's new home pending the signing of a 20-year lease. NOAA's current lease expires on June 30, 2011.


The center provides management of 10 NOAA vessels and serves as the home port for NOAA ships including the Rainier, Miller Freeman and McArthur II. The Bell M. Shimada is expected to join the fleet there next year.

The center also provides field support to NOAA ships Ka'Imimoana, Hi'Ialakai and Oscar Elton Sette out of Honolulu; David Star Jordan out of San Diego; Fairweather out of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Oscar Dyson out of Kodiak, Alaska.

NOAA officials said they selected the Oregon port "following a rigorous process involving an extensive review of proposals submitted by sites in Washington and Oregon," said Rear Adm. Jonathan Bailey, director of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Corps., in a statement.

According to NOAA, services to all of the ships include technical support and management of marine and electronic engineering for maintenance and repairs, operational and program liaison for vessel operations, as well as administrative and logistical support for vessel operations.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said she'll oppose NOAA's plan to move from Lake Union, using her position as chair of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NOAA.

"I am extremely disappointed by NOAA's announcement today that it intends to relocate its marine operations center to Newport, Ore., and intend to fight it ... I seriously question whether relocating NOAA's ships outside of the Puget Sound is really the right move for NOAA ... I'm not confident that all options have been thoroughly reviewed through this process," Cantwell said in a statement.