NOAA’s Fleet of ShipsOperations and Replacement
Challenges
CDR Cecile Daniels, NOAA Corps
Deputy – Program Services Division
Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
September 14, 2010
O&M Trends
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OMAO vs NOAA
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Operational Funding
• Annual appropriations (O&M) fund core operations of OMAO fleet and shore side support staff– Approx 3,300 operating days on NOAA ships – Approx 750 chartered vessel operating days
• Even with budget increases, challenged to meet NOAA mission requirements
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Capital Asset Funds
• Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC) funds received for ship construction and major repair / service life extension
• Challenges– Acquisition cost estimate– Maintenance costs– Life cycle costs / service life assumptions– Performance measures / return on investment
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Acquisition Cost Estimates
• Requirements definition• Multi-purpose craft or unique capability?
– Common suite of capabilities• Cost trade-off study limitations• Estimation tools for advanced research
ships limited– Initial budget cost estimate accuracy +/- 40%,
but estimate held as max cost by NOAA / DOC / OMB
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Maintenance Costs
• Appropriate maintenance and reliability / availability levels not specified
• Current maintenance constrained by appropriated funds results in substantial work backlog
• Aging fleet• Newer ships increasingly complex
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Life cycle costs / service life assumptions
• No effective way to estimate life cycle costs and perform trade-offs during concept development stage
• Common support / training advantages and savings
• 30-year service life realistic given tendency to operate for 35-50 years?
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Performance measures / return on investment
• Effective budget defense for capital acquisition requires– Science-based outcome performance
measures– Efficiency measures– Approved plan (e.g. Ship Recap Plan)
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NOAA Ship Recapitalization Plan
• Oct08 - Submitted to Congress
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SRP1 Execution
• FSV6 construction on schedule• FSV5 (Shallow-draft) design and
construction delayed to FY13 start (at the earliest)
• FSV7 (Miller Freeman) replacement delayed to FY13 start (at the earliest)
• NSV class design and construction delayed
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Questions?
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http://www.omao.noaa.gov/
Mission To safely and efficiently operate NOAA ships and aircraft, incorporate emerging data acquisition technologies, and provide a specialized professional team responsive to NOAA programs.
VisionTo be the best in class for sea and air operations and data acquisition for NOAA and the Nation.