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sea-going assets by acquiring the research vessel EWING and by supporting 

 extensive mid-life refits for its three intermediate class vessels. Cvirrently (FY95), 

 the NSF Ocean Sciences budget spends about 22 cents of every program dollar on 

 ship support. 



The academic fleet is the most modem and capable of any national or international 

 oceanographic fleet and the officers and crew are highly professional. The larger 

 ships are all equipped with multi-beam echo sounding systems, many of these are 

 state-of-the art, and the ships are able to support global, regional, and local 

 operations in all fields of oceanography. Institutionally based ships are infused with 

 the energy and innovative spirit of the scientists of that institution. The continuity 

 of crewing that is fostered at UNOLS institutions brings a breadth of experience, 

 knowledge, and professionalism to UNOLS vessels that cannot be found in 

 commercial operations. This invigorates the scientists and causes a synergistic 

 relationship between the crews and scientific parties. This relationship creates the 

 stimulant for successful science at sea. 



During the 1990s, there has been a decreased emphasis on Navy support of seagoing 

 research. Because of this, the Navy's return on its capital investment in the fleet- 

 new discoveries enabled by the research conducted on these ships— is in danger. 

 From FY 93-95, ONR averaged only $4.0 million for operationed support of academic 

 oceanographic platforms. In contrast, twenty-five years earlier, in 1968, ONR spent 

 $4.1 million. While modeling and the use of satellite data contribute enormously to 

 our understanding of the oceans, these capabilities must be tied to in-situ 

 observations. I am heartened by the Navy's recent statement confirming the 

 importance of a robust "at-sea" research and survey capability. I am also 

 encouraged by the Navy's projected increased use of the UNOLS fleet this year. I 

 urge you to support this trend. 



Future funding from the usual sources, primeirily NSF and ONR, is not likely to 

 keep up with the costs of operating this fleet. This budget shortfall could cause 

 serious disruptions in critical research, inaease cost of research on ships, and lead to 

 f)olitical battles over ship lay-ups. Federal support from agencies other than the 

 NSF for UNOLS vessels has dropped by 20% in recent years. As a partial solution to 

 the coming funding short-fall, a new national oceanographic partnership could be 

 formed to broaden the spectrum of agencies within the federal government that 

 actively support the UNOLS fleet, particularly NOAA, DOE and NASA. Broadening 

 the scope of fleet usage to support the missioixs of these agencies will ensure the 

 future health of the academic fleet and make efficient use of its recent 

 modernization. Agencies outside of NSF must be encouraged to work with the 

 UNOLS ship scheduling process in planning the use of vessels. 



For example, currently, the bulk of NOAA's oceanographic research is conducted on 

 NOAA vessels and, as a result, their support for academic sea-going facilities has 



