While newbuilds in the research sector during the past year didn’t rise to the scale of USNS Maury, a 353foot survey ship delivered to the Navy in 2016 by VT Halter Marine, there was activity involving smaller ves sels at nearly a dozen North American yards.
The biggest news came in July when Oregon State University announced that it had awarded a contract to Houston-based Gulf Island Fabrication for a 193foot regional class research vessel (RCRV), with the option to build two more. OSU received a $121 million grant from the National Science Foundation to begin construction, an amount that could rise to as much as $365 million for a three ship order.
The RCRVs, designed by Glosten of Seattle, will be equipped to conduct detailed seafloor mapping for earthquake research. They also will have advanced sensors to assess harmful algal blooms, changing ocean chemistry and tidal interactions that could be beneficial to wave energy research. High-bandwith satellite communications will enhance the streaming of data and video to shore.
The ships will be ABS Ice class C0 and DPS-1, and they will be Green Marine certified. With a cruising speed of 11.5 knots, they will have a range of 7,000 nautical miles and the ability to stay at sea for at least 21 days. There will be 16 berths for scientists and 13 for crewmembers.
The first vessel in the series is scheduled for delivery in 2020 and will be operated by OSU for research on the West Coast. The university will retire the 177-foot R/V Oceanus when the newbuild is ready. The National Science Foundation is in the process of selecting institutions to operate the second and third RCRVs, which likely will be based on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
In December, Vigor of Seattle delivered another research vessel for the West Coast: the 60-foot Sentinel for California’s Department of Water Resources. The newbuild replaced San Carlos, a venerable R/V that had monitored water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and upper San Francisco Estuary since 1976.
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