MV ''Odyssey'' (formerly ''Alucia'') is a 56-meter research and exploration vessel that facilitates a wide range of diving, submersible and aerial operations. The ship has recently been used by OCEEF, under the name Alucia and was previously utilized by initiative OceanX for ocean exploration, research and filming missions. She is now on Charter to the InkFish group and going into refit shortly.

History

''Odyssey'' was built as a heavy lift ship with a launch platform for diving and submersible operations in 1974 in

Auroux Auroux (; ) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Geography The Chapeauroux forms part of the commune's southern border, flows north through the middle of the commune, then forms part of its northern border. Population ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as the RV ''Nadir''. In 1984 it was purchased by the French oceanographic institute

IFREMER The or Ifremer is an oceanographic institution in Brest, France. A state-run and funded scientific organization, it is France’s national integrated marine science research institute. Scope of works Ifremer focuses its research activities in ...

and in 2004 by DeepOcean Quest. It was subsequently purchased by

Bridgewater Associates Bridgewater Associates, LP (informally known as "Bridgewater") is an American investment management firm founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. The firm serves institutional clients including pension funds, Financial endowment, endowments, Foundation (no ...

founder

Ray Dalio Raymond Thomas Dalio (born August 8, 1949) is an American billionaire and hedge-fund manager, who has been co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates since 1985. He founded Bridgewater in 1975 in New York. Dalio was born in New York ...

to support and facilitate ocean exploration and research. In 2012, Mark Dalio founded Alucia Productions (now OceanX Media) to film and chronicle ocean exploration and research missions aboard the ''Alucia''.

Features

''Odyssey'' has two

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s, the

Triton Submarines Triton Submarines is an American company that designs and manufactures submersibles for research, filming, deep-ocean exploration, and the superyacht and high-end tourism sectors. Triton is a bespoke manufacturer and, as of August 2023, fewer t ...

3300/3 (named ''Nadir'') and the Deep Rover 2, both rated for a maximum depth of . The ship also has an A-star helicopter and helipad; dry and wet science labs; 8K Red cameras, low-light submersible cameras and custom underwater camera housings; and a media room.

Missions

Notable missions aboard ''Odyssey'' have included: * The 2011 search for

Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...

* Filming of

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-winning series ''

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

'' * ''Filming of

BBC Earth BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster. BBC Earth commercia ...

Blue Planet II ''Blue Planet II'' is a 2017 British nature documentary series on marine life produced as a co-production between the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC America, Tencent, WDR, France Télévisions and CCTV-9 in partnership with The Open Universit ...

'' (with OceanX Media) * Capturing the first-ever footage of the

Giant Squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, ...

* Exploring the ocean's blue holes for the Emmy Award-winning series ''

Years of Living Dangerously ''Years of Living Dangerously'' is an American documentary television series, spread over two seasons, focusing on climate change. The first season, consisting of nine episodes, was broadcast on Showtime in 2014. The second season, consistin ...

References

External links

OCEEF
Alucia
OceanX {{DEFAULTSORT:Alucia Research vessels of France Ships of the Marshall Islands 1974 ships