The name of this mighty ship - Hi`ialakai- is Hawaiian for "embracing pathways to the sea." The Hi`ialakai supports various NOAA research services and the University of Hawaii such as coral reef ecosystem mapping, bio-analysis assessments, coral reef health and fish stock studies in the Hawaiian Islands, the U.S. Trust Territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam. These images were captured off Waikiki Beach with world-famous Diamond Head in the background.

The Oscar Elton Sette was named in honor of a pioneer in the development of fisheries oceanography and the father of modern fisheries oceanography in the United States. The ship supports the scientific missions of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Science Center in Honolulu. Visit the following web link: http://www.moc.noaa.gov/os/