The Nathaniel B. Palmer in Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Photo from the Washington Post article referenced below.
The Nathaniel B. Palmer in Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
While the National Science Foundation has said they will continue to support marine cruise science projects, planning for a replacement research vessel has been paused, per this 11 December Washington Post article. In September 2025, NSF said they'd use the U. S Academic Research Fleet, supported by University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), per this 24 October 2025 Science article. Other direct support to Palmer Station will come from the Ukrainian research vessel Noosfera, which as of 14 January was approaching Palmer. It called at Palmer in the 2024-25 austral summer.The only principal investigator mentioned in the Post article who is also listed in the usap.gov science planning summary is Alison Murray.
The vessels mentioned in the article include: the Sikuliaq operated by the University of Alaska, which published this November news article about the polar deployment; and the Roger Revelle operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Here are the relevant ship schedule pages for the Sikuliaq and for the Roger Revelle (pdfs) (these are downloaded from this page). Interestingly, these schedules do not mention Palmer Station as a port of call. 
Above right, a 20 December photo of Sikuliaq at Papeete the capital of French Polynesia, from David Pablo Cohn, who boarded there to work on software during the transit to Punta Arenas. And at left, a 9 January view of the Punta Arenas dock from Enrico Altmann showing the Roger Revelle (left), and the Noosfera shortly before it headed to Palmer.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Korean research vessel Araon departed Lyttelton on 27 December...loaded with researchers and equipment for a major study of the Thwaites Glacier. They'll be on site for 5-1/2 weeks...located more or less south of Denver in the Mountain Standard time zone. I'll be following and covering...best coverage by far is what the New York Times is doing, with two reporters on board.
Stay tuned!
And...below, the Noosfera approaching Palmer on Tuesday...from the webcam...as it seems that Zodiacs are pushing a berg away so the vessel can dock.
