Press Releases
06/26/2026
DEEP Announces New Long Island Sound Research Vessel
(HARTFORD)--The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) unveiled today its new Research Vessel named Sound Outlook. The vessel was named after its intended use, to provide the outlook on the health of our treasured Long Island Sound ecosystem.
The Sound Outlook will help safeguard water quality in the Long Island Sound by enabling water quality sampling, especially close to shore where there are the highest levels of public recreation. DEEP’s Water Monitoring Program is part of the Long Island Sound Partnership (LISP), a collaborative effort involving researchers, regulators, user groups, and other organizations and individuals. Convened through the LISP, these stakeholders work together to protect and improve the health of the Sound.
DEEP’s Water Monitoring Program meets specific objectives set out in the federally approved Long Island Sound Management Plan to research, monitor, and assess water quality and factors that contribute to water quality change, and to maintain and enhance monitoring and assessment programs to increase understanding and assess progress toward management outcomes in the Long Island Sound.
“DEEP is proud to work with federal partners, the State of New York, universities, and NGOs to see this this significant investment through so we can build on our long-term monitoring of the health of Long Island Sound for future generations,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes. “The new Research Vessel Sound Outlook is a generational investment that allows DEEP to fulfill its mission to make sure we keep tabs on the tremendous recreational and economic engine that Long Island Sound represents for Connecticut. DEEP greatly appreciates the support from EPA and the entire Long Island Sound Partnership to support this new vessel purchase.”
Since 1991, DEEP’s Water Quality Program has used the Research Vessel John Dempsey, which served a dual role in completing water quality surveys and fisheries surveys. Our water monitoring work will now be conducted on the new Sound Outlook, which is specifically designed for water quality surveys. The vessel was built by Brix Marine from Port Angeles, Washington. It is a catamaran style vessel with a 44–foot-long, 16-foot-wide aluminum hull, and has a laboratory space three times the size of the Research Vessel John Dempsey, with modern amenities like special laboratory refrigerators to store water samples, and computer desks to allow continuous measurements of water quality while conducting water quality sampling.
The Sound Outlook was funded by an award to DEEP by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Long Island Sound Partnership. Total cost for the vessel was $2.2 Million.
The R/V Sound Outlook will help DEEP safeguard water quality in the Long Island Sound DEEP’s Water Monitoring Program is part of the Long Island Sound Partnership (LISP).
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Contact
DEEP Communications
DEEP.Communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110