UW discovers
![Thomas Thompson ship with Seattle skyline](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121050/1_ThomasG_Thompson-3504.jpg)
The Thomas G. Thompson, commonly called “Tommy Thompson,” makes the UW one of the few places where undergraduates can get hands-on field experience aboard a world-class research ship. Owned by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research and operated by the UW, the Thompson is one of three such U.S.-based research vessels, built in the early 1990s, that scientists from across the country can use to study marine issues around the world.
![Thomas Thompson ship waiting to cross canal](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121110/4_ThomasG_Thompson-2903.jpg)
The 274-foot Thompson can travel 12,000 miles for up to 60 days on the open sea, but its latest journey was a little closer to home at the UW Seattle.
![Thomas Thompson ship under draw bridge](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121112/3_ThomasG_Thompson-2207.jpg)
Embarking on a major upgrade, the Thompson recently sailed from its dock at the College of the Environment’s School of Oceanography to the Vigor Marine shipyard in south Seattle.
![rusty anchor](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121058/8_ThomasG_Thompson-1005.jpg)
It’s time for the vessel’s midlife refit, which will extend the life of the Thompson for another quarter-century or so.
![engine of Thomas Thompson ship](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121101/7_ThomasG_Thompson-1310.jpg)
Upgrading a vessel this large (274 feet long, or about three-quarters of the length of a football field) is no small task. It will take nearly a year — and many hours of welding — to replace all six diesel engines, add modern navigation and control systems, and upgrade the plumbing, heating and ventilation.
![In its many years at sea, the Thompson has its share of adventures—including some unexpected rescue operations on the open ocean.](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121107/5_ThomasG_Thompson-1959.jpg)
In its many years at sea, the Thompson has its share of adventures—including some unexpected rescue operations on the open ocean.
![Thomas Thompson ship in water](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2016/07/07121056/9_ThomasG_Thompson-3219.jpg)
Just days before the refit, the Thompson was still hard at work for science. A research team from UW and NOAA traveled onboard to Washington’s Pacific Coast. There, they deployed a marine robot to help provide advanced warning of harmful algal blooms that can contaminate shellfish on local beaches, causing anyone who eats them to become ill.