NOAA Research Vessels Welcome New Homeport
After nearly 20 years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) research vessels NANCY FOSTER and RONALD H. BROWN now have a dedicated home port in North Charleston, SC, with the shoreside utilities and support NOAA research staff need to conduct missions.
Manson delivered the new 360-foot by 60-foot state-of-the-art floating pier, replacing the aging pile-supported concrete structure officially known as “Pier Romeo” at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (“FLETC”). The new pier allows the vessels to dock at a NOAA pier for the first time in many years, after the old pier was decommissioned due to its service life and inability to support modern vessels. Manson also built a seawall, electrical building, and warehouse to support NOAA operations.
“The old pier was decommissioned in 2006, leaving no working pier in the area,” says Manson Project Engineer Malaree Scott. “Since then, NOAA has rented space from the U.S. Coast Guard and other nearby marine ports to dock their vessels.”
Getting Started at Pier Romeo
In late 2023, Manson worked closely with NOAA and our design engineer COWI to turn NOAA’s initial design concepts into a refined, constructible plan that met the end user’s needs for quality, function, and long-term value. As the Design-Build partner, Manson reviewed the concept for constructability, cost, maintenance, and future growth, identifying practical improvements before field work began.
“The design phase gave us the opportunity to look at constructability, cost, and long-term maintenance before construction began,” explains Manson Project Sponsor Matt LaRue.
Throughout preconstruction, from late 2023 through early 2024, Manson coordinated with COWI, NOAA, electrical designer HDR, and steel float fabricator KEEL (formerly Metal Trades) through regular calls and in-person meetings in Charleston. The team aligned specifications, pricing, constructability, and design details while moving decisions forward efficiently. With NOAA’s support and COWI’s expertise, the team advanced a floating pier, gangway, and trestle design with full utility trenches to simplify maintenance, support future expansion, and balance performance, efficiency, and operability.
One key outcome of the design phase was Manson’s recommendation to move away from the original truss concept for the trestle in favor of a bridge girder system. The revised approach provided a more cost-effective solution while still meeting the project’s operational and performance requirements.
“NOAA trusted the process,” Matt says. “Once COWI was comfortable with the direction, NOAA gave us the room to do our job and develop a better solution.”
That trust inspired greater innovation that proved invaluable during brainstorming and design concept meetings. Throughout the design phase, Manson’s team and NOAA maintained a clear understanding of the base concept, working within the established project budget, and adhering to the contractual requirements for scope changes. The outcome was a collaborative relationship built on fairness and transparency with respect for defined responsibilities.
After NOAA approved the final design, KEEL—with oversight from Manson—began fabricating the floating pier, trestle, and gangway at their nearby facility in August 2024.
In late October 2024, the Manson project team mobilized to the site, established operations, and set up a laydown area for equipment and materials. The team brought in the HUNTER S barge from Carver Maritime and placed a Link-Belt 298 crawler crane from Stevens Towing on the barge, along with a 140-ton Clyde derrick barge and other equipment to the project site.
In the fall, crews began demolishing the existing structure. Manson crews chipped the concrete piles to prepare sections of the old pier for heavy-lift removal, while subcontractor Miller Environmental removed electrical utilities and power mounds beneath the pier.
Over the next two months, the demolition crew prepared the cut sections for removal. In early 2025, Manson used the 140-ton Clyde crane to lift the concrete deck sections onto a barge and transport them to a laydown area owned by local marine contractor Salmons Dredging for demolition.
“NOAA has been great at finding and providing space throughout the property to temporarily store sections of the old pier,” says Project Manager Hannah Huezo. “This has helped the project run smoothly and saved the project time and money by avoiding the need to find offsite storage.”
After pier demolition was complete, the project team removed the existing piles that supported the old pier, each ranging from 18 to 24 inches square and 65 to 100 feet long. Hardened clay-like material is common in the Cooper River which can affect the ability to remove piles, so the team utilized jetting with high-pressure water to reduce the suction force, but many ended up being cut below the mudline, as was permitted by the contract.
Crews then began installing the new 48-inch-diameter, 116-foot-long steel piles that would support the new structure in place of the old pier: a floating pier designed to be resilient to sea-level rise, as well as more accommodating for daily line-tending as vessels are moored alongside the float.
As piledriving progressed, subcontractors Gulf Stream Construction, Gatch Electrical, and Chandler Construction began inland work to install new electrical, plumbing, and storm lines. K-Con Construction also began construction of the electrical building and warehouse.
In the summer of 2025, after several months of piledriving, Manson drove sheet piles, each 45 feet long, for a new 600-foot long seawall. The structure will protect the property from coastal erosion and severe weather. Standing 4 feet above ground level and with a large concrete cap, it also adds stability to the pier area.
“The seawall is built to last more than 50 years,” Malaree says. “It extends from the new pier along the edge of the property.”
After the seawall was complete, the team drove the trestle and gangway piles and formed and poured concrete pile caps with the Link-Belt crane in preparation for the arrival of the new floating structure.
Connecting the New Structure
The construction sequence at Pier Romeo centered first on the floating pier—the centerpiece of the new sea-level-rise-resilient structure. After two years of design, planning, and fabrication, the pier was launched on December 30, 2025, from KEEL’s Shipyard in Yonges Island, SC, where it had been built over the previous 15 months. It was then towed to Pier Kilo in North Charleston, where Southern Concrete placed and finished the lightweight concrete deck on top of it.
In February 2026, the nearly completed float arrived onsite, ready for final installation at the NOAA facility. With assistance from Manson’s Survey department, the floating pier was maneuvered into its design location and temporarily secured in position with spud barges. With only ½-inch of tolerance and strong currents, the pier required only minor adjustments before the crew skillfully secured it by driving the first four of sixteen 48-inch by 116-foot steel piles into the pile collars.
At fabrication contractor KEEL’s facility in Yonges Island, the 245-ton, 160-foot gangway and 110-ton, 80-foot trestle were finalized and set aside for transport. Once most of the floating pier piles were in place, KEEL mobilized the gangway and trestle to the project site for installation.
During installation, Manson’s Survey department helped calculate and confirm placement for the pier, trestle, and gangway. The following day, Stevens Towing’s OCEAN RANGER set the 160-foot-long, approximately 480,000-pound gangway onto pile cap anchors previously constructed by Manson crews.
Once the cap section of the gangway was secured, the gangway was lowered onto the pier’s roller pads. Over the next three months, Manson crews completed the remaining piledriving and pile cap installation, while K-Con completed work on the new electrical building and warehouse.
After delivering the pier on time and meeting NOAA’s goals, Manson, NOAA, and project partners celebrated the new floating pier and associated structures at an official ribbon-cutting ceremony in July 2026.
“In under two years, NOAA in collaboration with the private sector, [Manson] has delivered a modern maritime campus that will serve as the homeport for the NANCY FOSTER and RONALD H. BROWN and other NOAA vessels, on time and under budget,” says Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Dr. Neil Jacobs. “Congratulations to NOAA and all of our partners on the successful completion of Pier Romeo.”
Visit Manson's Vimeo page to watch a video on the Pier Romeo Recapitalization project.
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