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Change of Command for NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer

Outgoing commanding officer of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Captain Colin Little, addresses incoming commanding officer Commander Tony Perry III during a change of command ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

Outgoing commanding officer of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Captain Colin Little, addresses incoming commanding officer Commander Tony Perry III during a change of command ceremony in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Image courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (1.5 MB).

Please join NOAA Ocean Exploration in thanking and bidding farewell to Captain Colin Little, outgoing Commanding Officer of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and welcoming the ship’s new Commanding Officer, Commander Tony Perry III!

NOAA Corps officer CDR Perry relieved CAPT Little of command of Okeanos Explorer during a formal change of command ceremony at the NOAA Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center on Ford Island, Oahu, Hawaiʻi on July 16, 2024. Rear Admiral (lower half) Chad Cary, Deputy Director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, presided over the ceremony. The ceremony honored Okeanos Explorer’s current work to explore waters around Hawaii, by incorporating traditional Hawaiian protocol.

Deputy Director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations Rear Admiral Chad Cary addresses the audience during the ceremony signaling the change of command of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

Deputy Director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations Rear Admiral Chad Cary addresses the audience during the ceremony signaling the change of command of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Image courtesy of Olivia Andrus-Drennan, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (1.15 MB).

Incoming NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer commanding officer Commander Tony Perry III (left) and outgoing commanding officer Captain Colin Little (right) participate in a traditional Hawaiian blessing on the bridge of the ship.

Incoming NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer commanding officer Commander Tony Perry III (left) and outgoing commanding officer Captain Colin Little (right) participate in a traditional Hawaiian blessing on the bridge of the ship. Image courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (1.46 MB).

CAPT Little joined Okeanos Explorer as commanding officer in 2022 and has successfully led the vessel on exploratory expeditions along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, along the U.S. West Coast, and in waters off Alaska and Hawaiʻi. Under his command, the team on Okeanos Explorer has conducted scientific operations that span from 25°W (Azores) to the International Date Line at 180°E (Alaska, United States of America). While NOAA Ocean Exploration will miss CAPT Little, he’s not going far, as later this summer, he will assume command of the Marine Operations Center - Pacific, the center responsible for managing Okeanos Explorer.

CDR Perry joins the vessel after completing an assignment serving as Associate Director for NOAA Research’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Florida, where he served as the facilities supervisor and oversaw the acquisition and completion of over $20 million in construction projects. No stranger to ships, he has also completed sea assignments on NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette, NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai, and NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter. We’re looking forward to continued success of operations under his command, as the Okeanos Explorer team explores in the central Pacific.

NOAA Ocean Exploration Operations Chief Kasey Cantwell presents outgoing commanding officer of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Captain Colin Little, with a painting of the ship that commemorates exploration done in Alaska in 2023 under CAPT Little’s command.

NOAA Ocean Exploration Operations Chief Kasey Cantwell presents outgoing commanding officer of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Captain Colin Little, with a painting of the ship that commemorates exploration done in Alaska in 2023 under CAPT Little’s command. Image courtesy of Olivia Andrus-Drennan, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (1.38 MB).

A lei lā’i adorns the bridge railing of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. The lei lā’ī are made of ti leaves which are a significant plant in Hawaiian culture and utilized for ceremonial purposes.

A lei lā’i adorns the bridge railing of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. The lei lā’ī are made of ti leaves which are a significant plant in Hawaiian culture and utilized for ceremonial purposes. Image courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (1.29 MB).

Okeanos Explorer is part of NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships. The 224-foot ship is operated by officers with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps–one of the nation’s 8 uniformed services–and civilian professional mariners with the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. NOAA Ocean Exploration owns the mission equipment used during expeditions on Okeanos Explorer and coordinates the ship’s exploratory mission, in partnership with the ship’s crew.

Published August 8, 2024