Interesting vessel on the river today: the USNS Eagleview

This morning around 7 am, the USNS Eagleview leaves the shipyard at Swan Island heading downriver and out to sea, probably passing Astoria around 1 pm.

She's a USNS vessel - that means Military Sealift Command, but she's smaller in size than most of the MSC ships we see here, but she fills big shoes in her support role as an "auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship." These vessels are primarily designed for oceanographic research and surveillance operations, particularly in support of the U.S. Navy's anti-submarine warfare efforts.

Her civilian crew is comprised of professional mariners and scientists.