3.6: Modern Oceanographic Vessels

Oceanographic research vessels form the backbone of ocean research in the 21st century. While their ability to provide much-desired spatial and temporal resolution remains limited, ships offer a platform for nearly every other type of technology used to study the ocean. Humans working aboard ships can perform feats no modern robots can come close to. Ships enable diverse teams of oceanographers from all over the world to carry out collaborative research.

Modern oceanographic research vessels—designated by R/V in front of the ship’s name—serve several functions. Under the supervision of a trained captain and crew, they provide a safe, comfortable, mobile habitat for dozens of scientists and technicians. Among their many attributes,

• They provide a stable platform for launching and deploying a variety of oceanographic instruments above, below, and on the surface of the ocean.
• They permit scientists to access remote ocean locations, including the central gyres of the major oceans, ice-covered oceans, and remote islands.
• They offer state-of-the-art navigation capabilities, providing precise locations for sampling (underway or on station) and the ability to return to those exact locations in the future.
• They offer state-of-the-art communications and telepresence capabilities, allowing oceanographers and crew to download satellite imagery and stream images to shoreside personnel and the public.
• They provide specialized cranes and winches for deploying oceanographic instruments, such as submersibles and robotic craft.
• They offer ample deck space, such as a fantail, a broad platform on the rear of a vessel, where oceanographers can work outside close to the waterline, and where portable vans (or clean rooms) can be installed for carrying out specialized analyses and experiments.
• They provide laboratories with benchtop instruments for at-sea analyses of collected samples, where live organisms may be observed, and where samples may be prepared and stored for shoreside analyses.
• They offer computing capability for storing and analyzing electronic data in real time or on demand.
• They provide mess halls and places to sleep, bathe, and relax (e.g., a lounge with a big-screen TV, a library, a gym, and, on some vessels, a sauna). Some of these spaces can also be used for meetings and conversations with colleagues.

Most oceanographic research vessels operate under the supervision of the University–National Oceanographic Laboratory System, better known as UNOLS. The UNOLS fleet includes five global-class ships, six intermediate-range oceangoing vessels, and seven regional/coastal-class ships. UNOLS also coordinates the use of nearly one hundred small research vessels (35–100 feet in length). UNOLS-approved vessels meet strict standards, including rules aimed at individual conduct, prohibitions on drugs and alcohol, and guidelines on privacy, discrimination, and harassment while on board (UNOLS 2021). Researchers who request use of a UNOLS vessel must adhere to these standards.

Oceanographers also make use of ships of opportunity, commercial vessels that regularly cross the ocean, such as freighters, tankers, cruise ships, and ferries. The Ships of Opportunity Program (SOOP) provides reports on weather conditions and deploys expendable profilers that measure properties of the water column, an unspecified volume of water from the surface to a particular depth. SOOP, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), currently collects weather and ocean data from more than 1,200 vessels.

It goes without saying that life aboard an oceanographic research vessel brings adventure, excitement, and a sense of camaraderie with fellow scientists. Crew and scientists typically work around the clock in shifts of four hours on and eight hours off or some variation thereof. With multiple teams of scientists carrying out different kinds of investigations, a research cruise may seem a little like a three-ring circus. But in the end, weather and equipment permitting, everyone accomplishes as much as they possibly can in the time allotted. It’s a lot of work, and the work can be exhausting, but you won’t get any sympathy from the crew. When I once complained on the R/V Oceanus about being tired, the galley person responded, “You can sleep when you’re dead.”