EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 93 



You do not preclude the use of conversions of existing vessels or 

 ships of opportunity to gain basic data of a survey nature while you 

 are waiting to get the money for new ships, do you? 



Commander Alexander. No, sir; the Navy has an extensive 

 program for using ships of opportunity. We wouldn't gain very 

 much, really, in time, by using conversion, because we will start to 

 work shortly on fiscal year 1964 programs. That would mean that 

 if we wanted a conversion, we would now have to enter it into fiscal 

 year 1964 programs and it wouldn't be available for 2 years. 



Mr. Drewry. Well, that was basically my point. Can you bring 

 new ships into being fast enough to allow the program to proceed at 

 a maximum available speed? 



Commander Alexander. Well, we have a number of ships coming 

 in now, sir. I don't think we would gain anything by bringing addi- 

 tional ships in that were conversions, right at this point. 



Mr. Drewry. Now, on page 6, you refer to the resulting reassign- 

 ment of ships to prevent duplication or give better distribution. I 

 just want to see if I understand correctly, your statement that in fiscal 

 1962 the Coast Survey reassigned a proposed ship from being a replace- 

 ment for an overage coastal survey ship to the Nation's first world 

 ocean survey ship. Does that mean that an authorized ship for the 

 Coast Survey, which was contemplated to replace an overage coastal 

 ship, is now going to be redesigned to serve as a world ocean survey 

 ship, rather than coastal survey ship? Is that the point? 



Commander Alexander. No, sir. At the time we were dealing 

 with dollars and with numbers. A ship was allowed in the Coast 

 Survey program but it was designated initially as a replacement ship. 

 As a result of the ICO's studies, we realized that the world ocean 

 survey program needed a ship as soon as possible so the Coast Survey 

 decided to delay the replacement, and utilize this ship as a world 

 ocean survey ship. 



Mr. Drewry. This had not yet gotten to the point of congressional 

 authorization? 



Commander Alexander. Not to the congressional authorization 

 or to the design stage. 



Mr. Drewry. That is all, Commander. Thank you. 



Mr. Dingell. Commander, I was unfortunately called away to 

 vote on another committee in another matter, and I apologize for 

 being away. 



I was concerned by a couple of things in your statement that I 

 would like to perhaps explore with you very briefly. 



The first point is, you indicated that the panel has recommended 

 that, except in special circumstances, the oceanographic ship program 

 be restricted to new construction ships in the future. Am I correct 

 on that? 



Commander Alexander. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Dingell. Does this mean that there is an inadequate supply of 

 existing vessels which could be acquired more cheaply for this purpose? 



Commander Alexander. This is one of the points that was 'Drought 

 out in the Bureau of Ships study in the Coast Survey ship, Mr. Chair- 

 man. The Bureau of Ships made a rather detailed study, and one of 

 the ground rules was to determine how many ships would be available 

 that would give us the same capability of AGOR 1,375-ton ship, and 

 what would it cost. 



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