80年代初,美国海军海洋学船队拥有以下船只:4艘深海测量船(均为改装船);2艘沿岸测量船;7艘科学调查船(租借给科学研究机构)。船队所面临的主要问题是船只和设备更新问题。当时在美国国防部担任海军部长的约翰·莱曼对海军海洋学极为重视,并于1984年发布了“重振海军海洋学”的政策备忘录。在众多的提议中,有一项是有关海军海洋学船队装备现代化的提议。对此,美国海军海洋学办公 In the early 1980s, the United States Naval Oceanography fleet owned the following vessels: 4 deep-sea surveyed vessels (all modified vessels); 2 coastal survey vessels; and 7 scientific survey vessels leased to scientific research institutes. The main problem facing the fleet is the issue of vessel and equipment renewal. John Lehmann, then a navy minister at the U.S. Department of Defense, attached great importance to naval oceanography and released a policy memorandum entitled “Revitalizing Naval Oceanography” in 1984. Among the many proposals, one is the proposal to modernize the Navy’s Oceanographic fleet. In this regard, the United States Naval Oceanography Office