JS ''Futami'' (AGS-5102) was a ''Futami''-class

oceanographic research ship Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

for the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

Construction and career

''Futami'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 20 January 1978 and launched on 9 August 1978 by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

Shimonoseki file:141122 Shimonoseki City Hall Yamaguchi pref Japan01s3.jpg, 260px, Shimonoseki city hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 248,193 in 128,762 households and a pop ...

Shipyard. She was commissioned on 27 February 1979 and was incorporated into the Marine Service Corps and deployed in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

. On 17 March 1980, the Marine Service Corps was reorganized into the Oceanographic Command. She was decommissioned on 17 March 2010. During her service, her total voyage reached 579,780

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at the eq ...

, about 28 weeks on Earth, and total voyage time of 74,809 hours.

Citations

References

* Takao Ishibashi "''All Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships 1952-2002''" (Namiki Shobo, 2002). * "''World Ships Special Edition 66th Collection Maritime Self-Defense Force All Ship History''" (Gaijinsha, 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Futami 1978 ships Futami-class oceanographic research ships Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries