Now the Naval Historical Center and the Ocean Technology Foundation are spearheading an underwater search for the ship, with support from the New Hampshire Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center of NOAA.

Led by William Suk, director of both the NIEHS Center for Risk and Integrated Sciences and the Superfund Basic Research Program, the GIS overlays maps and high-resolution aerial photography of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi with a wealth of demographic, hydrographic, infrastructure, and industrial/agricultural data from publicly available sources.

Right now, three different types of support vessels are undergoing state tests and will soon be adopted for service in the Navy: a small hydrographic survey vessel, a physical field monitoring vessel, and a lift vessel--a hazardous-cargo loader.