Built during the Cold War, this 323' NOAA research ship appeared to have covert mission capabilities

Rumors swirl around the idea that this vessel was built at the height of the Cold War and its real mission was tracking Soviet Submarines. From Wikipedia: USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS 01) was commissioned as an "ocean survey ship" (OSS) with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on 13 July 1966[1] under the command of Captain Arthur L. Wardwell, USESSA.[2] With her home port at Seattle, Washington,[2] she was the second Coast and Geodetic Survey ship of the name, and served as flagship of the Survey's fleet. When the Coast and Geodetic Survey and other United States Government agencies combined to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, she became the research ship NOAAS Oceanographer (R 101), the first NOAA ship to bear the name, as well as flagship of the NOAA fleet. NOAAS Oceanographer during her historic visit to the People's Republic of China in 1980. During her 30 years of service, Oceanographer sailed over 2,000,000 nautical miles (3,700,000 km) in every major ocean. In 1967 she departed Jacksonville on 31 March on a "world science and ambassadorial cruise" which took her from the United States East Coast to the United States West Coast via the North Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean, making many good-will stops along the way before concluding the voyage by arriving at Seattle on 11 December.[3] In 1968, she supported Project Sea Use, a multi-party expedition to Cobb Seamount in the North Pacific Ocean which developed much of the initial scientific understanding of the seamount.[4] In 1969 she completed the circumnavigation of the globe she began in March 1967 when she returned to the U.S. East Coast. Other highlights of Oceanographer's career included participation in the first large-scale, coordinated international sea-air interaction survey, known as the BOMEX Study, in 1969, and environmental base-line studies on deep-ocean mining (DOMES). In 1980, Oceanographer became the first U.S. Government vessel allowed into a port of the People's Republic of China.[5] Oceanographer was placed in reserve in July 1981. She underwent a major refit in which she received an Alden weatherfax, a Sperry Mark 37 gyro, a Raytheon X-band Pathfinder radar, Inmarsat, an MX1102 Global Positioning System, a new salinometer, a Shipboard Environmental Acquisition System with expendable bathythermograph gear, a new meteorological station, and a Doppler current profiling system, and returned to service with this new equipment on 8 April 1986. Placed in reserve in 1989, she later returned to service again. The final owner was an Italian playboy who was converting it into a mega-yacht in Seattle when he died of a heart-attack during a car race in Europe. The ice-class US Research ship with diesel electric propulsion, 15,000 mile-range, can do over 20-knots. At 3,700+ Gross Tons, it was supposed to have 18 luxury suites, a full spa, screening room, onboard film/TV/recording studio, full gym, submarine launch through moonpool, multiple twin-turbine helicopters, etc., etc. After much litigation after his untimely death, the vessel was scrapped in Mexico.More vessels for purchase and conversion at XplorerYachts.com