In recent years, the Shipboard Scientific Equipment Program has been responsible for 

 significant improvements in the ability of academic fleet vessels to support research. Improved 

 communications and navigation technology (such as INMARSAT and GPS, respectively) is being 

 added to the fleet. Special emphasis has been placed on upgrading deck equipment (such as CTD 

 winches and cranes) to handle the larger and increasingly massive instruments (such as rosette 

 samplers and MOCNESS nets) which have come into wide use. This Program will continue these 

 efforts in the near future and will coordinate them with modernization of onboard science 

 laboratories and automation of data collection and analysis systems. Funding of $0.5M in 

 FY1989 increasing to $1 .7M in FY1996 is required for this effort. 



B. Upgrading and Modernization of the Academic Fleet 



In 1970, almost 70% of the academic research fleet was composed of ships which had been 

 converted to research vessels. By 1985, this percentage had been reduced to less than 20% by 

 replacing older converted ships with ships designed from the keel up as research vessels. The 

 Ship Construction/Conversion Program provides funds for new ship construction; for 

 conversion of ships to research vessels, when appropriate; and for refitting existing research 

 vessels. 



Since 1970, the National Science Foundation has funded construction of seven new research 

 vessels -- Calanus, Iselin, Oceanus, Wecoma, Endeavor, Point Sur, and Cape Hatteras. 

 Occasionally, it remains economically advantageous to replace an obsolete vessel with a 

 conversion. A recent example was the NSF-supported conversion of an offshore supply vessel to 

 become the R/V Sprout, replacing the aging R/V Scripps. Recent refittings have included the 

 Alptia Helix (a new pilot house and modernized laboratories); the Iselin (interior spaces); and 

 the Cape Henlopen and the Warfield (engine improvements). Funds required to meet these needs 

 are $2.2 M in FY1989 with an increase to $3.1 M by FY1996. 



III. Research Vessels as Components of the Global Program 



The capabilities of the existing research fleet must be substantially improved during the next 

 decade if forefront ocean science research is to be successfully pursued. The ships of the 

 research fleet have been and will continue to be essential to this pursuit. However, present 

 demands of science require new, more capable research ships to replace aging existing ships, 

 especially the largest ones. All reviews of the academic research fleet demonstrate that by the 

 1990's most present ships will be obsolete in terms of their capability to support the growing 

 requirements of modern sea-going ocean science research. Better sea-keeping ability, higher 

 performance, improved over-the-side handling arrangements, and modern, state-of-the-art 

 shipboard laboratories are needed to meet these requirements. 



The trends and patterns of the basic ocean science disciplines demonstrate the critical nature of 

 the needs for substantially improved ocean-going, more science-capable vessels and platforms. 



61 



