R/V CAPE HATTERAS is owned by the National Science Foundation and assigned through a Charter Party Agreement to the Duke/University of North Carolina Oceanographic Consortium. The Oceanographic Consortium is made up of five universities in North Carolina: Duke University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina – Wilmington, and East Carolina University. Duke University Marine Laboratory provides the operations base for CAPE HATTERAS on Pivers Island near Beaufort, North Carolina.