Planning for a replacement escort vessel started in 1998 with the ordering of a research vessel, the RV Triton, to study whether a trimaran design was practical for such a large and complex vessel.
The ship was renamed James Cook after Captain James Cook and used as a research vessel until 1991, when it was replaced by the RV Tangaroa.
This ship was later loaned as RV Calypso to explorer Jacques Cousteau in the 1950s, who used it as a filming base for several films.
RV Wecoma, a seagoing research marine vessel based in Newport, Oregon operated by NOAA and OSU