The U.S. Navy christened the newest oceanographic research vessel Kilo Moana (AGOR 26) during a 7:45 a.m. ceremony at Atlantic Marine, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2001. The Honorable Daniel Inouye, U.S. Senator from Hawaii, was the ceremony’s principal speaker, and his wife, Margaret Inouye served as ship sponsor. In the time-honored Navy tradition, Mrs. Inouye broke a bottle of champagne across the bow and formally named Kilo Moano, which is Hawaiian for Oceanographer. Kilo Moana is designed to perform a broad spectrum of oceanographic research in coastal and deep ocean areas. Research ranges from physical, biological and chemical oceanography to environmental investigations, ocean surveys, engineering, marine acoustics, marine geology and geophysics.
