The University of Oregon (UO) has begun lobbying for the Oregon state legislature to provide funding for a new ocean-going research vessel.
UO's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) plans to use the vessel on missions related to research on marine organisms and ecosystems.
Pending state legislative approval, the new vessel would replace Pluteus (pictured), which was built in 1973 and which the OIMB claims has become too small and too obsolete for its current needs.
Construction of the vessel would take place within Oregon.
