Finding the Right Ship

by Teresa Atwill, Teacher at Sea

Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Jason

As I sit here in the R/V Kilo Moana computer lab (hanging on as we roll over a swell), I am thinking back on my experiences on other research vessels. Research vessels (that’s what the “R/V” stands for) are ships specifically designed to conduct a diverse array of scientific studies at sea. I have now toured or been at sea on over 15 different ships. Research vessels are a diverse lot. Each ship has its own distinct look and personality, although there are sister ships that are fairly similar to each other. There is a lot to learn about the various types and classes of research vessels. If you conduct ocean research it pays to be familiar with the different options.

Who owns that ship?
UNOLS (University National Oceanographic Laboratory System)Vessels
Since 1971, UNOLS has been in charge of overseeing the scheduling and uses of the UNOLS fleet of vessels, as well as a number of the underwater instruments used by scientists. UNOLS was started by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to ensure orderly access to vessels by scientists from U.S. universities.
How does a research cruise happen? To begin with, a scientist, or group of scientists, writes a research proposal to submit to the National Science Foundation (NSF), and as part of the process they decide on:

• what instruments (ROV’s, AUV’s etc) are needed on the ship 
• how many days at sea are needed for the project 
• how many scientists are needed at sea 
• what types of lab work are needed to be done on the ship 
• what kind of internet access is needed 
• what geographic location and time of year are required 

Once the project gets funded, then UNOLS and NSF determines on which ship and on which dates the project will be scheduled. UNOLS tries to get a good fit with the type of research vessel needed by the scientists, and they try to make the most efficient schedule for all the ships. Each ship has an owner, usually the Navy or the NSF, and an operating institution (usually, a university). This process can take up to 2 years between submitting a proposal and actually going to sea.

R/V Revelle in Newport, OR.

Last summer, we were conducting similar research to the work we are doing this summer on board the R/V Roger Revelle. That vessel is a UNOLS “Global Class” ship and its operating institution is U.C. San Diego, Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The Revelle is a mono-hull (one hull- 274 feet long) and has a very large back deck. Global Class ships are generally larger, have more science berths and larger lab spaces. They are designed for large interdisciplinary research projects, where lots of scientists are conducting a wide variety of research, and can operate in any part of the world.

Aft deck of R/V Kilo Moana.

This year, we are on the R/V Kilo Moana (186 feet long), which is operated by the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This vessel has twin hulls (sort of like a catamaran) and is an “Ocean Class” UNOLS vessel. The back deck on the Kilo Moana is smaller than Revelle’s and it is more challenging to run all the science operations in the tighter space available. Also, the number of bunks is fewer on the Kilo Moana than on the Revelle and we had to limit the number of scientists onboard. Our aggressive research plan that calls for simultaneously running the ROV Jason and the MBARI AUV would challenge even a Global Class ship.

Many of the crew on board have spent time working on other UNOLS vessels. The crew on the Kilo Moana are very helpful and professional. Without their hard work, skills, and experience (on how to do various tasks on the ship) we would not be able to conduct our research.

What’s the difference?
Besides size, the things that vary from ship to ship are:

• Number of science berths
• The size, and kind (wet, dry and computer) of labs
• How large the deck space is and where the space is located
• The number and type of cranes, winches, sonars, etc.
• The length of time the ship can remain at sea, without refueling
• The quality and kind of internet and connectivity

Generally, the larger the ship, the bigger the space available to scientists and the higher the number of bunks available. Larger ships can hold larger and more diverse science equipment on the deck, and can stay at sea the longest.

Some things to consider are that ROV’s like Jason have a crew of 10 people to operate. The MBARI AUV crew is a total of 5 engineers and technicians. Collecting samples for chemistry, geology, and biology studies often requires analyses to be carried out on the ship. Therefore, multi-disciplinary research projects often take large numbers of scientists at sea.

Privately funded versus publically owned ships
 
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of research vessels operated by private oceanographic research institutes. These vary a great deal depending on the finances and mission of a particular organization. We have a team on board from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) to operate their Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and are a partner in this research project. Usually, these scientists and engineers go out on MBARI’s privately owned research vessels, but this time they are working with our chief scientists Bill Chadwick and Scott Nooner on the monitoring of volcano deformation at Axial Seamount.

R/V Falkor with ROV SuBastian

Before our ship left Astoria, we got to take a tour of the privately owned R/V Falkor, which is operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute and has its own ROV.

Research vessels must be as capable and versatile as possible to accommodate the widest possible variety of science in any part of the world. They are the work horses of the oceanographic research.