Vessels
KEI maintains a variety of vessels that are used for research and sampling in marine and aquatic environments, both in shallow waters and offshore. Vessels range from a 34’ diesel-powered boat adapted from an Alaskan fishing boat design down to smaller inflatable skiffs and customizable barges that can be shipped by air for use in remote locations. Since KEI’s Arctic operations often involve sampling on the ice-covered Beaufort Sea, KEI maintains snowmachines and cargo sleds to support these winter sampling activities.
The D. W. Hood is a 34’ diesel-powered research vessel homeported in Long Beach, California. This vessel is fully equipped for oceanographic surveys in nearshore coastal areas of Southern California. Built with a seaworthy Bristol Bay, Alaskan fishing boat design, this vessel features a large 18’ x 10’ aft work area and is suitable for running offshore. The D. W. Hood is equipped with a mast and boom as well as a hydraulic A-frame and winches capable of lifting more than 2,000 lbs. The cabin forward features three bunks, a work area, and a marine head.
The R/V Prophesy is homeported in Oakland, California and is fully equipped for day trips in the nearshore ocean, the San Francisco Bay, and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Built on an East Coast lobster boat design, the Prophesy is 30’ overall, diesel-powered, very seaworthy in ocean swell and chop, and can make 18 knots. The vessel features a large work area and is equipped with a 10’ hydraulic A-frame, 2,000-lb drum winch, and gypsy winch.
The North Forty is KEI’s trailerable 26’ Farallon that is homeported in Anchorage, Alaska. This vessel is well suited to nearshore operations in the waters of Alaska’s Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, and Kachemak Bay. The North Forty has been used for hydroacoustic fish surveys, fish trawling, ADCP current profiling, zooplankton sampling, and many classic receiving water and sediment quality investigations.
KEI’s other sampling platforms include modular barges equipped with moon pools and tetrapod frames for vibracoring operations, Boston whalers, a pontoon boat, inflatable skiffs of various sizes, and smaller Jon boats and canoes for lake and stream sampling efforts. In addition, Arctic on-ice sampling efforts are supported with snowmachines, cargo sleds, and other remote logistics capabilities.