MHI to Build RV for JAMSTEC
Marine Technology Reporter
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order for construction of a wide-area seabed research vessel from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). The vessel will be designed to advance wide-area research into seafloor resources, its comprehensive research capabilities to include elucidation of mineral and ore deposit origins and formation conditions, and will also enable contributions to disaster prevention research. Construction will start at MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture this year, with completion scheduled for March 2016. The ship will measure 100 x 19 m with gross tonnage near 5,500 tons. To efficiently conduct survey research of ocean floor resources, it will be capable of operating such state-of-the-art equipment as a seismic research system for investigating crustal structure, large piston corers and a seafloor-mounted excavator for collecting seabed samples, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Sea speed will be approximately 12 knots, with a crew capacity of 65. The vessel on order will also be outfitted with a marine research laboratory enabling swift analysis of collected samples without any time-lag deterioration.
(As published in the October 2013 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - www.seadiscovery.com)
February 2024
