Officials break ground on new NOAA base in Newport

NEWPORT, R.I. (WLNE) — State officials gathered in Newport on Monday morning to break ground on a new National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters.

The new $147 million headquarters will double the number of ships that call Rhode Island home.

Two massive NOAA vessels will be coming to the Ocean State, as Rhode Island becomes the home port for more than a quarter of NOAA’s research fleet.

The new site includes a massive pier, a floating dock, and a building for shoreside support.

The previous headquarters was located in Norfolk, Virginia, and the relocation is part of a $147 million bid to bring NOAA’s Atlantic fleet to the state.

“We are the site of America’s first offshore wind farm, and it is continuing to grow,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce and former Governor of Rhode Island Gina Raimondo. “We have this facility, Rhode Island’s putting a lot of investment into its ocean-tech hub [and] the University of Rhode Island and their School of Oceanography is the best in the world. So I think there’s certainly a case to be made.”

All four vessels will focus on research, ranging from mapping the sea floor to managing fisheries, bringing hundreds of jobs with them.

“This is a great victory for working men and women here in Rhode Island, and that I think is the whole essence of what President Biden is trying to do with his policies,” said Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed. “Enhance working Americans. Give them the opportunity that they deserve, and we have now a skilled workforce that’s going to be committed to getting this done on time, on budget and getting it done right.”

The contract to complete the pier is also being handled by a local company, Skanska USA, and a contract is in place to make sure the work is done by local workers.

Work on the pier is underway now and is expected to be completed by 2027, and the last of the four ships will be in Rhode Island by 2026.