REV Ocean Launches Maiden Science Voyage to Support Marine Protection, Policy

REV Ocean has set out the details of its Maiden Voyage Science Program: ten partner-led missions spanning the South Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Eastern Tropical Pacific that will mark the first operational research season for REV, the latest addition to the global philanthropic fleet.

The program launches in Rio de Janeiro in April 2027, alongside the UN Ocean Decade Conference, and runs through the South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Sargasso Sea and the Eastern Tropical Pacific into late 2028. The missions will advance ocean science and support marine protection and policy work.

The research and expedition vessel is designed to function as a convening platform. Boardroom, auditorium and meeting spaces are integrated into the ship's design, directly adjacent to its laboratories so that scientists, policymakers, sectoral and governance authorities and decision-makers can meet alongside the fieldwork. 

Each of the ten missions is developed with regional partners (universities, conservation organizations, UN bodies and regional authorities) who bring the scientific priorities and regional knowledge that guide the program.

The missions cover seamount ecosystems off Brazil, in the Sargasso Sea, and across the Eastern Tropical Pacific, alongside Sargassum dynamics, mesophotic and deep-sea biodiversity, transboundary MPA networks, and the science-to-policy pipeline. All of it in ecosystems that remain critically understudied despite their role in biodiversity, connectivity, carbon cycling, and ocean resilience. The program advances seabed mapping, open-ocean observation, data sharing, and capacity development.

The planned Maiden Voyage program 2027–2028:

• Vitória-Trindade Ridge, Brazil: Seamount ecosystem research across one of the South Atlantic's least-surveyed underwater landscapes, generating baseline data to inform ongoing protection and management decisions in the region.
• Fernando de Noronha Ridge, Brazil: Mapping and biodiversity research on seamounts, cold-water corals and vulnerable ecosystems within Brazilian national waters.
• Floating with Sargassum: At-sea training for early career scientists from impacted island nations covering Sargassum, its associated biodiversity, role in carbon cycling and microplastic accumulation.
• Southern Caribbean: Research and capacity strengthening to support marine stewardship, including potential protected areas, for mesophotic and deep-sea ecosystems in national and adjacent international waters.
• Beata Ridge, Colombia–Dominican Republic: Deep-sea research to support the Beata Ridge protected area and a joint monitoring and management plan between the two countries.
• Sargasso Sea: Deep-sea and open-ocean research supporting international efforts toward a large-scale marine protected area beyond national jurisdiction.
• Heart of the Caribbean: Research and policy work to establish the scientific basis for the Caribbean's first multinational marine protected area, spanning waters linked to Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
• Coiba Ridge and Colinas y Lomas System, Panama–Colombia: Research across transboundary deep-ocean ecosystems connecting the Cordillera de Coiba, Sandra Ridge and Colinas y Lomas region, supporting marine protected area design, management and connectivity between Panama and Colombia.
• Cocos Ridge, Costa Rica–Panama-Colombia: Deep-ocean research across offshore ridge systems, seamounts and protected areas linking Costa Rica and Panama, supporting understanding of ecological connectivity and strengthening the scientific basis for marine protection across the CMAR corridor.
• Galápagos–Hermandad and International Waters Corridor, Ecuador: Deep-ocean exploration within and beyond the Galápagos and Hermandad Marine Reserves, supporting regional conservation planning, connectivity assessments and future protection opportunities in both national and international waters.

All data from the science program will be shared through the Ocean Data Platform (ODP) and other relevant platforms, ensuring findings remain accessible to partners, policymakers and researchers after each mission ends.