598 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



why this country should embark on an ocean engineering program, and I shall 

 not reiterate them here, but I do believe that the case in favor of an ocean 

 engineering program can be defended solely on the basis of these two goals. 



I have often been asked why it is necessary for the Federal Government to 

 sponsor engineering development in the oceans when private industry is capable 

 of doing it. The answer, I think, is simply that the initial cost of undertaking 

 engineering projects in the oceans is large, while the rewards may be long de- 

 layed in realization or so diffuse as to be unexploitable by a single industrial 

 enterprise. We cannot expect an industrial enterprise, unaided by the Govern- 

 ment, to undertake the necessary research and engineering studies, to fund 

 construction of a system, and to underwrite its operation when private industry 

 cannot expect a satisfactory financial return on its investment. A good example 

 of the area wherein the expenditure of public rather than private funds i» 

 indicated is the possibility of improving the fishing grounds by controlled return- 

 ing of nutrients to the surface waters. No single company can be expected to 

 undertake this important project. Some projects in the oceans will undoubtedly 

 prove to be of such a nature that industrial enterprises will gladly undertake 

 them. There is no doubt in my mind that once the Government has led the way 

 into the ocean deeps, industry will not be far behind. This is good and healthy 

 and I think it should be encouraged in every way possible. 



The present national oceanographic program includes some ocean engineering 

 projects, but the goal of all of them is to improve the capability for carrying 

 out basic research programs. An example close at hand is the Navy-sponsored 

 development of our deep research vehicle, Alvin. This project has necessarily 

 entailed a great deal of ocean engineering, but the objective has been to pro- 

 vide a vehicle for oceanographers to use in their basic research projects. Al- 

 though the several departments and agencies involved in the national oceano- 

 graphic program undertake ocean engineering projects in order to fulfill their 

 mission in the oceans, there are gaps between their present missions that pre- 

 clude the development of a comprehensive ocean engineering capability. These- 

 gaps must be filled if we are to develop the capability of conquering the ocean 

 depths for peaceful purposes and exploiting the vast resource potential of the 

 oceans. 



There are many ways in which these gaps in present ocean engineering pro- 

 jects could be filled. I think it is fairly obvious that the oceanographic research 

 and engineering programs now underway are indeed germane to the operations 

 of the departments and agencies sponsoring them. It is not nearly so clear to 

 me that the development of an ocean engineering capability can be satisfactorily 

 split up among many organizations. I tend, therefore, to think that there should 

 be a new Government organization whose primary responsibility is ocean 

 engineering. 



There are numerous ways in which the new organization might be formulated. 

 It could be a new department in the executive branch as recently proposed by 

 Senator Muskie, or it could be similar to the old National Advisory Committee 

 for Aeronautics. Each of these possibilities has many pros and cons. You and 

 your colleagues are far more knowledgeable than I in the matter of Govern- 

 ment organizations and the legislation necessary to produce the desired results.. 

 I, therefore, hesitate to suggest any one approach as being more appropriate than 

 another. 



I do think we need to have a great deal of thought about the long-range objec- 

 tives of a new organization, much along the lines of the study proposed by Dr. 

 James Wakelin in his address at the Marine Technology Society Conference. 

 We need further thought about the most elfective form for the new organiza- 

 tion to take ; we need to identify more exactly the public stake in the oceans ;• 

 and we need to consider and define more explicitly our international responsi- 

 bilities in this area. 



I also think that there are many ocean engineering projects of some urgency 

 that should be undertaken without waiting for the results of a comprehensive 

 study. Last summer at the Navy's seabed study in Monterey, several of these 

 ocean engineering products were identified and discussed. The final report of 

 the conference discusses not only the defense systems which will require an 

 increased ocean engineering capability, but also systems that will be utilized 

 for basic research projects in the oceans. Undersea laboratories, deep research 

 vehicles, fiip ships, and tethered research vehicles are but a tew of the systems 

 which were identified. 



