SCIENCE AND THE SEA 



SUPPORT 



At the present, a total of 22 nations share in the cost of 

 operating Atlantic Ocean Station Vessels. The contribution of each 

 nation is based upon the number of Atlantic crossings by civil air- 

 craft belonging to it, plus a share of the "non-aeronautical benefit" 

 factor. In addition to the support furnished by the operating 

 nations, eleven nations assist with cash contributions. 



During the years that ocean station vessels have been in 

 existence, their regular meteorological observations have prgved 

 very valuable not only for aviation but also for general meteoro- 

 logical purposes. Member nations have held conferences regularly, 

 the latest one being the Fifth North Atlantic Ocean Station Con- 

 ference held at The Hague, Netherlands, in March 1960. At the 

 suggestion of the Government of the Netherlands during this 

 meeting, adjustments were made in the scale of cash contributions 



to take into consideration the prevalent tendency for cost increase. 



It is difficult to assess the actual cost of operating all of the 

 ocean station vessels, as some are also used for other purposes. 

 However, the 1961 figures show that for ships used entirely for this 

 purpose, the annual cost varies from $270,000 for Norwegian ships 

 to $943,000 for U. S. ships. For each of nearly one and a half million 

 passengers who flew across the Atlantic, this means that only a few 

 dollars were spent on the essential services of ocean station vessels. 

 Or stated in a different way, the cost of operation of all weather 

 ships cost just slightly more than the purchase price of one jetliner, 

 with required spares. 



The number of years ocean station vessels will be required to 

 fulfill all of their current duties remains to be seen. Even with 

 rapid progress in constant level balloons and satellites, the Inter- 

 national Civil Aviation Organization will have a need for these ships 

 for decades yet to come. 



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