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The NOAA research vessel (R/V) Delaware II was used for trawl surveys for many years during the Status Quo period considered in this DPEA. It was retired from NOAA service in 2012 and sold so it is not anticipated to be one of the vessels used in the future. The R/V Delaware II was a 155 foot steel-hulled, purpose-built research vessel powered by two General Motors diesel engines with a total of 1,230 horsepower. The R/V Delaware II used a single propeller to achieve a sustained cruising speed of 10.0 knots. The deck equipment featured six winches, one deck crane, two A-frames, and a moveable stern gantry. Each of the winches served a specialized function ranging from trawling to hydrographic surveys. The ship had a beam of 30.2 feet and a draft of 14.8 feet, and could accommodate a crew of 32 people including up to 14 scientists for voyages of up to 16 days. The ship's normal operating area was the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the continental shelf and slope from Southern New England to Cape Hatteras, NC.