RV Blue Heron
RV Blue Heron is a research vessel serving on the Laurentian Great Lakes. She is owned by the University of Minnesota Duluth, and operated by the Large Lakes Observatory in partnership with the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. The Blue Heron is the largest research ship owned by a university operating on the Great Lakes, and the second-smallest UNOLS vessel by LOA.
History
The Blue Heron was built in 1985 as a fishing vessel and christened Fairtry before being purchased by the University of Minnesota in 1997 and converted to a research vessel for deployment in 1998. The ship celebrated its 25th year of scientific service in 2023.In September 2024 the crew discovered an unknown microorganism in a substance on the ship's rudder shaft while docked at the Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio. Researchers gave the microorganism the placeholder name of "ShipGoo001".