RV Atlantic Explorer
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RV ''Atlantic Explorer'' is a twin-screw ocean vessel. It is owned and operated by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) in coordination with and as a part of the
University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System The University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) is a group of academic institutions and National Laboratories organized in the United States to coordinate research vessel use for federally funded ocean research. Authority The UNOLS ...
(UNOLS) fleet. ''Atlantic Explorer'' is in compliance with
US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...
, UNOLS and
American Bureau of Shipping The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) is an American maritime classification society established in 1862. Its stated mission is to promote the security of life, property, and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verific ...
(ABS) regulations as an uninspected oceanographic research vessel and is supported by the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
(NSF). Its homeport is
St. George's, Bermuda St. George's (formally the Town of St. George or St. George's Town), located on the island and within the parish of the same names (and on the northern side of St. George's Harbour), settled in 1612, is the first permanent English (and later Br ...
. The ship was constructed in 1982 as a Class III ocean-going environmental research vessel. In it was known as ''Seward Johnson II'', owned by
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI, FAU Harbor Branch) is a non-profit oceanographic institution operated by Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. Founded in 1971 as non-profit research organization, the i ...
and based in
Ft. Pierce, Florida Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Florida’s Atlantic Coast. It is also known as the Sunrise City. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...
. BIOS purchased the vessel in October 2005, and modified it to better support the planned activities. This vessel replaced the previous BIOS research vessel, the smaller ''Weatherbird II'', which had been in use since November 1989. The most extensive modification made to the new ship was installation of a housing and a deployment station for the institute's 24-place ''Conductivity, Temperature and Depth'' (CTD) rosette package, which is extensively used for Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) operations. Modifications were completed by early 2006, and in March 2006 the ship was re-christened ''Bank of Bermuda Atlantic Explorer'' (the
Bank of Bermuda The original logo of The Bank of Bermuda before it joined the HSBC Group HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited, previously the Bank of Bermuda Limited, is a financial services company in Bermuda providing retail and corporate banking, investment, custody an ...
had made a significant endowment which enabled the vessel's purchase). The new vessel was still small enough to navigate
Ferry Reach, Bermuda Ferry Reach is a three mile (five kilometre) long channel in the north-east of Bermuda, which lies between St. George's Island in the north and St. David's Island in the south, south-west of the town of St. George's. It extends south from St ...
and dock at the new BIOS facility, but had significantly larger space for crew, researcher berths, and research areas. The deck space can accommodate four scientific vans or work boats. Buoys or instrument packets can be launched and retrieved.


BIOS history

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences was established in Bermuda in 1903 as the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. and is a US non-profit research and educational institution. On 5 September 2006 it changed the Station's name to ''Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.'' In support of its expanded mission to provide well-equipped facilities and staff support for resident scientific staff, visiting scientists, faculty, and students from around the world, BIOS obtained the ship, and in 2006 converted it into the ''Atlantic Explorer''. Ready access from Bermuda to the deep ocean makes ''Atlantic Explorer'' ideal for short and extended cruises, for repetitive sampling and time series at the same station, and for all projects requiring analytical and other sophisticated shore facilities. ''Atlantic Explorer'' spends an average of 150 days per year at sea. Typical cruises run from day-trips to two week cruises.


Specifications

''Atlantic Explorer'' is equipped with navigational, laboratory and mechanical facilities to support biological, geological, chemical and physical oceanographic research. Deploying and recovering deep ocean instrumentation
mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...
s, conducting CTD casts, chemical sampling, and gear testing are among the number of operations within the ship's capabilities.


Ship specifications

*Built: 1982 *Last conversion: 2006 *Gross Tonnage: 299 ( GT) (861 ITC) *Net Tonnage: 203 ( NT) (258 ITC) *Weather limitations Station-keeping (CTD casts) Sea state 5 (30 kn wind) *Personnel capacity: 12 crew berths *Scientific berths: 22 *Total berths: 34 *Laboratory **Main laboratory: **Aft laboratory: **Forward laboratory: *CTD garage (Complete enclosure for CTD rosette): *Radiation laboratory (portable):


Usage

Requests for ship time may originate from scientists located at any university or institution. Ship costs for National Science Foundation (NSF) supported research projects are provided by NSF directly to BIOS as part of the annual NSF fleet support grants. Investigators seeking support from agencies other than NSF should include ship costs in their budgets to those agencies.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Explorer Research vessels 1982 ships