UT Marine Science Institute sells Longhorn

Associated Press

The Longhorn, a 103-foot-long vessel that carried academic researchers out into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three decades, is leaving port for new duties Thursday. The University of Texas Marine Science Institute sold the Longhorn to Global Geophysical Services for $265,000. The university put the boat up for sale last year. It needed extensive repairs and wasn't used as much because research called for vessels that could reach depths greater than its 8,202-foot reach. The vessel hasn't been used since October 2006. Over the years, the burnt orange vessel sailed from 70 to 100 days a year, with about 10 percent of those for university research. It has gone from the Yucatan Peninsula to the southern tip of Florida and up the eastern coast of the United States.

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Created: Thursday October 25, 2007