In a unique public-private partnership, commercial ocean-crossing ships will play a practical and affordable role in detecting and tracking potentially destructive tsunami headed toward Hawaii. The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa has outfitted ten ships operated by shipping giants Matson and Maersk Line (via the World Ocean Council) with specialized GPS and satellite communications systems. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the hardware turns the giant vessels into ocean-crossing tide gauges.