RV Pelican was built in 1985 as an oceanographic research vessel and is operated by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). The vessel has four laboratories and can support 16 scientists for periods up to three weeks. In May 2010, it was one of the first scientific vessels to arrive at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...

 in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

to begin the process of characterizing the extent and consequences of the spill.