Research Vessels and Moored Platforms in India Presentation : Arjun K sabu What is a research vessel in oceanography ? Research vessels carry out research on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water, the atmosphere, and climate, and to these ends carry equipment for collecting water samples from a range of depths, including the deep seas, as well as equipment for the hydrographic sounding of the seabed, along with numerous other environmental sensors. These vessels often also carry scientific divers and unmanned underwater vehicles. Types of Vessels Hydrographic Vessels Oceanographic Research Vessels (ORV) Polar Research Vessels (PRV) Fishery Research Vessels (FORV) Navel/Defense Research Vessels Coastal Research Vessels (CRV) Research vessels in India RV Gaveshani ( 1975 - 1995 ) Gaveshani (meaning: Researcher), was NIO's first research vessel acquired in December 1975. In her 19 years of service (until 1994), she completed 246 cruises. She accidentally caught fire on 26 August 1994 during refit and modernisation. She was then declared unserviceable in December, 1995. Gaveshani enabled the Institute to Her participation in Monsoon experiments successfully carry out extensive for collection of oceanographic and surveys for offshore oil fields, mineral meteorological data earned her a Certificate deposits, monitoring oil pollution and of Appreciation from IMD developmental activities of the visited Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and continental margins. It was she who Seychelles put India on the world map for deep 68.5 m medium range vessel sea mining CRV Sagar Sukti ( 2001 - 2012 ) A coastal research vessel, converted by acquiring a fishing trawler built 1990 by M/ s Hooghly Dock & Port Engineers Limited (HDPEL) Howrah, West Bengal, India and owned by NIO with refit in 2001 by Dempo Shipbuilding & Engineering Ltd, Goa. 214 cruises for various oceanographic research and survey programmes in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal Maximum endurance is about 10 days Crew capacity is 8 23 m vessel Served during 2001-11 The vessel was decommissioned and handed over to the buyer on 11th December 2012 at Old Goa jetty. RV Sindhu Sankalp ( 2008 - Present ) The vessel originally built as fishing training vessel (FV Chisio Maru) by the Japanese Government in 1989 was bought by NIO in 2008. Extensive modifications have been done to convert this fishing training vessel into a multi-disciplinary research vessel. The vessel has been registered under Indian Flag with a new name “RV Sindhu Sankalp”. With newly laid accommodation and modern scientific facilities. 57 m length vessel Maximum speed is 10.9 kn RV Sindhu Sadhana ( 2012 - Present ) Sindhu Sadhana is a Research Vessel that was built in 2012 and is sailing under the flag of India. It is a multi-disciplinary oceanographic research vessel will have capabilities to undertake basin scale observations and will enable Indian oceanographers to take up studies not only in the seas around India, but also in any part of the Indian Ocean. 80.01 m length vessel Maximum speed is 8.8 kn ORV Sagar Kanya ORV Sagar Kanya is a research vessel owned and operated by India's National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research(NCPOR). The ship has helped in India's studies of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.[The multidisciplinary research vessel was built in Germany in 1983 and delivered in India to the Ministry of Earth Sciences(then Department of Ocean Development). The vessel is an ocean- observing platform equipped with scientific equipment and related facilities. 100.34 m length vessel Maximum speed is 14.25 kn Maximum endurance is about 45 days FORV Sagar Sampada FORV Sagar Sampada is an Indian research vessel that is equipped to carry out multidisciplinary research in oceanography, marine biology and fishery science. This is the unique facility of the country equipped to undertake oceanography and fisheries (demersal) in the same platform. The vessel is currently managed and operated by the Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, a research institute attached to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, and is operated from Kochi 72.5 m length vessel Maximum speed is 13 kn Maximum endurance is about 15 days Crew capacity is 56 including 22 scientists CVR Sagar Purvi CVR Sagar Purvi is a Research Vessel that was built in 1996 (25 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of India. Managed by Vessel Management Cell widely known as 'VMC' is an operational wing of NIOT Used for the implementation of the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (COMAPS) and Integrated Coastal and Marine 30.15 m length vessel Area Management (ICMAM) programs of the Maximum speed is 5.2 kn Ministry of Earth Sciences and to provide services to the other agencies like Universities and Research Institutes for surveys and data collection CVR Sagar Paschmi CVR Sagar Paschmi is a Research Vessel that was built in 1996 (25 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of India. Managed by Vessel Management Cell widely known as 'VMC' is an operational wing of NIOT Used for the implementation of the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (COMAPS) and Integrated Coastal and Marine 30.15 m length vessel Area Management (ICMAM) programs of the Maximum speed is 5.3 kn Ministry of Earth Sciences and to provide services to the other agencies like Universities and Research Institutes for surveys and data collection ORV Sagar Nidhi ORV Sagar Nidhi is an ice-strengthened multidisciplinary vessel operated by the NIOT, India. It was constructed at Fincantieri, Italy. The 104-metre-long vessel has fully automatic diesel-electric propulsion equipped with dynamic positioning system, azimuth thrusters, and a winch to hoist 60 tonnes from a depth of 6,000 metres The vessel is capable of carrying out geo-scientific, meteorological and oceanographic research, and is 103.6 m length vessel designed with blue-water capability Maximum speed is 6.3 kn with ranges of up to 10,000 nautical Maximum endurance is about 45 days miles. She is expected to support research in the Indian and Antarctic Oceans INS Sagardhwani (A74) INS Sagardhwani (A74) is a marine acoustic research ship (MARS) owned by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory(NPOL), a DRDO laboratory and is maintained and operated by the Indian Navy, and based at Southern Naval Command, Kochi. The ship was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata,launched in May 1991, and commissioned in 1994. The vessel is designed to facilitate low noise and low vibration while carrying out acoustic programmes. It has floating 85.1 m length vessel floors for scientific laboratories, anti- Maximum speed is 16 kn vibration mountings for machinery and Maximum endurance is about 200 equipment, balloon launching container and days wind weather radar to carry out those Crew capacity 80 plus 16 scientists experiments. It is also equipped with VHF sets, marine radio and auto telephone exchange. Moored Platforms in India What is a mooring ? Moorings are structures that allow water scientists to position instruments, collect samples, and take long-term measurements in waterbodies. A mooring typically consists of a flexible cable that is tethered to the ocean floor by a weight or anchor and suspended from the sea surface by a buoy. A platform has a flat workspace for instruments and people, and can be free-floating, moored to the seafloor, or rigidly fixed in place. Water scientists, including physical and chemical oceanographers, marine biologists and geologists, meteorologists , and lake scientists called limnologists collect many types of data from instruments installed on moorings Single Point Mooring (SPM) Single point mooring (SPM) serves as a link between the shore-facilities and the tankers for loading or off-loading liquid and gas cargo Some of the major benefits of using SPM are: Ability to handle extra large vessels Doesn’t require ships to come to the port and thus save fuel and time Ships with high drafts can be moored easily Large quality of cargo can be easily handled Some SPM’S in India: Borl SPM1 Essar SPM1 HPCL - MITTAL SPM IOCL PARADIP SPM II IOCL PARADIP SPM III Reliance SPM 3 Reliance SPM 4 Reliance SPM 5 Moorings deployed by INCOIS(Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services) Surface Mooring Implementation of moored-buoy array for the Indian Ocean in support of climate studies. The focus is on the open ocean north of 30° S. Special efforts will be needed to address western and eastern boundary currents, the Indonesian Throughflow and coastal dynamics. The array will focus on those aspects of ocean dynamics, ocean- atmosphere interaction and climate variation that require high temporal resolution, multi-variate time-series, which moored measurements are uniquely suited to address The array will be long-term and sustained Real-time data transmission will be a high priority in order to support operational climate analyses and forecasts Data will be freely and openly exchanged via the GTS and the WWW The flux reference moorings located in several key climatologically distinct regions, including: Bay of Bengal . Arabian Sea Equator Region of subduction in the southeastern basin (see the CEC in section 6) (25°S, 97°E) The ridge in the thermocline near 8°S, where ocean dynamics affect SST Region of cyclone formation east of Madagascar Region of maximum rainfall south of the equator near 95°E. Sources: .NIOT Website .INCOIS Wesite .NIO Website .Wikipedia .Google Thank You.