Jon Loveless spotted the research vessel, the Bell M. Shimada. It was built for NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to study fish populations. The vessel is particularly quiet so as not to disturb fish. In Jon's photo there is a fishing boat to the right - yes, the Shimada is big, it's 209 feet long and has a crew of 25, plus 17 scientists.

This vessel's home port is Newport, Oregon. You can learn much more about it and its schedule at this website: http://www.moc.noaa.gov/sh/

Here is a close-up of the vessel that I obtained from the website.

Thanks to Jon and to NOAA for allowing me to share their photos with you here.