The NOAA oceanographic research vessel Robert H. Brown returned to its homeport of Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday, October 22, following a 243-day voyage around the world.
The voyage saw the vessel's crew conduct scientific research involving seawater and plankton as well as service more than 80 buoys that provided weather, climate, and ocean forecasting data for the research.
Robert H. Brown had travelled a total of more than 38,000 nautical miles since leaving port in February of this year. Port calls were made in South Africa, the Seychelles, India, Australia, and Hawaii.
The ship is set to head out again to sea in February 2019.