USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66) is a Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey vessel operated by the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command. As the seventh ship in her class, she was originally named Maury but was renamed in 2023 in honor of renowned oceanographer Marie Tharp. The vessel's construction began with her keel laying on February 1, 2011, at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point, Mississippi. Her hull was launched on March 27, 2013, and she was officially delivered to the Navy on February 16, 2016. Marie Tharp completed her maiden voyage in June 2016, marking her entry into operational service. Measuring approximately 350 feet (110 meters) in length, Marie Tharp is notably longer than her sister ships in the Pathfinder class by about 24 feet (7.3 meters). This extension was designed to accommodate a 300-square-foot (28 square meters) moon pool, a feature that allows for the deployment and retrieval of unmanned underwater vehicles, enhancing her capabilities for oceanographic surveys. This makes her the first new oceanographic survey ship built since the USNS Mary Sears was launched in 2000, reflecting a significant upgrade in the U.S. Navy's oceanographic research fleet. The ship's renaming in 2023 was part of a broader effort by the U.S. Navy’s Naming Commission to reconsider names associated with Confederate history. Originally named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, a naval officer and oceanography pioneer who served in both the U.S. Navy and the Confederate Navy, her new name honors Marie Tharp, whose groundbreaking work produced the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The renaming was officially completed on March 13, 2023, symbolizing a shift towards honoring scientific achievement and exploration in maritime history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.