Research and Survey Vessels
Jobs
Seismic Vessel’s primarily
purpose is to collect multichannel seismic data, including HD 3-D surveys. Seismic
Research Ship with seismic prospecting equipment, called seismic streamers or
acoustic receivers. Seismic reflection is measured by firing an air gun and
recording the echoes from the seabed by hydrophones.
Seismic Vessel or Research and Survey Vessels or Research Vessel (RV) are usually owned and operated by either Navy or Coast Guard or by authority or ocean research institutes of the country to which Research Vessel belongs. Research ships are used for oceanographic, geoscientific, meteorological, fisheries and ecosystem research.
Besides survey ships are also used for oil and gas
exploration, submarine volcanoes, ocean mountains and ship wrecks etc. Research vessel may be deployed for
deep sea mining, launching of AUV's, ROV's, manned or unmanned submersibles and
for exploration of gas hydrates.
Research and Survey ships are equipped with different types
of surveying, navigational and communication systems. The Research ships are
designed to carry out coastal shallow water and also deep oceanic hydrographic
survey and collect oceanographic and geophysical data required for the
production of digital navigational charts and publications.
The research ships are capable of going to ocean for voyages
ongoing for up to 45 to 60 days at a time and spend up to 300 days of a year at
sea for different research purposes. Research vessel’s daily operating charges
are very high and are estimated to be $150,000 per day.
Exclusive characteristics of the research ship are a
‘gondola’, comparable to a winged keel, mounted 1.2 m beneath the hull,
and two drop keels (which can be lowered to a maximum of 4m under the hull), to
hold scientific gadgets underneath the layer of micro bubbles produced by the
motion of the ship’s hull through the water. These instrumentation involves
pelagic sediment profiler and acoustic mappers to produce maps of the sea
bottom. The machinery and the hull of the research ships are so designed to
function as calmly as possible to increase its scientific capabilities.
The research vessels may have laboratories for different
scientific works and also small operating theatre having medical personnel. The
stern of research ship is fitted with gears for anchor handling and retrieving
acoustic and oceanographic buoys. Its complement vary from one oceanographic
research ship to other but mostly may have up to 18 to 20 crew and 35 to 40
scientists.
For Example, Australian oceanographic research ship
Investigator has Tonnage of 6082 GT, 1824 NT, Length-93.9 m (308 ft 1 in), Beam-18.5
m (60 ft 8 in), Draught-6.2 m (20 ft 4 in), Depth-9.45 m (31 ft 0 in), Propulsion-Diesel
Electric incorporating 3 x 9 Cylinder Diesel MaK 9M25C Generators (3000 kW
each), 2 reversible electric propulsion motors (2600 kW each) driving two slow-speed
fixed-pitch propellers,1 electric retractable azimuth bow thruster (1200 kW).
Speed-12kts, Range-10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km), 60 days, Complement-18-20
crew, up to 40 scientists.
