NOAAS Heck (S 591)  NOAAS "Heck" (S 591) was a "Rude"-class hydrographic survey ship in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1995. Prior to her NOAA service, she was in commission from 1967 to 1970 in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as USC&GS "Heck" (ASV 91). "Heck" was built as an "auxiliary survey vessel" (ASV) for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey at the Jackobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, New York. She was launched on 1 November 1966 and delivered to the Coast and Geodetic Survey on 11 March 1967. She was commissioned on 29 March 1967 as USC&GS "Heck" (ASV 91). When the Coast and Geodetic Survey merged with other United States Government organizations to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, "Heck" became part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS "Heck" (S 591). "Heck" and her sister ship USC&GS "Rude" (ASV 90), later NOAAS "Rude" (S 590), were designed to conduct wire-drag survey operations together, and the Coast and Geodetic Survey acquired them to replace the survey ships USC&GS "Hilgard" (ASV 82) and USC&GS "Wainwright" (ASV 83) in that role. Like "Hilgard" and "Wainright" before them, "Rude" and "Heck" worked together under a single command conducting wire-drag surveys, clearing large swaths between them with a submerged wire. During their careers, however, electronic and acoustic technologies arrived that allowed a single ship to do the same work as two wire-drag vessels, using side-scan sonar or multibeam sonar. As a result, "Heck" and "Rude" began to operate independently in 1989, employing the improved technology. "Heck"s deck equipment featured one winch and one telescoping boom crane, giving her a lifting capacity of up to 7,500 pounds (3,400 kilograms), as well 500 feet (150 meters) of cable that could pull up to 250 pounds (113 kilograms). She had 11 bunk spaces, and her mess room could seat seven. She was equipped for diving operations to allow human investigation of submerged obstacles.