Three Ships and a Sub
Keeping up with the research vessels Knorr, Atlantis, Oceanus, and the deep-sea submersible Alvin
Knorr passes a milestone: one million miles and counting
Two round trips to the moon. Forty trips around the Earth. That’s how far the research vessel Knorr has cruised in 36 years at sea.
The 279-foot vessel, which was launched in 1970 and travels about 11 nautical miles per hour, passed the million-mile mark on Oct. 6 in the Golfo de Ancud, along the coast of Chile.
Captain A.D. Colburn said Knorr passed the milestone while traveling to Puerto Montt, Chile, after a 46-day science expedition in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica. The crew marked the occasion by ringing the ship’s bell and blowing the whistle. That night on shore, they toasted the event with champagne.
Knorr, capable of traveling around the world for ocean research, is best known for carrying researchers to their discovery of the Titanic wreck in 1985. Knorr and the research vessel Melville are among the ships in the current University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System fleet to have topped one million miles.
Atlantis comes home, alongside an old friend
The research vessel Atlantis is a bit like a Hollywood celebrity—well-known and often talked about, yet rarely seen cruising around town.
In fact, when the 274-foot vessel’s arrived in Woods Hole on Oct. 13, it marked just the third time since its launch in 1996 that it has sailed into its home port.
Since Atlantis’ last visit in July 2003, the vessel has logged more than 50,000 nautical miles on science expeditions, primarily in the Pacific.
The vessel made one short research expedition in the North Atlantic this fall, before settling in for several months of maintenance. The ship is expected to return to work in January.
R/V Oceanus celebrated two anniversaries this fall. On Oct. 28, as the vessel returned from a research cruise in the Gulf of Maine, WHOI staff greeted the vessel at the pier to celebrate 30 years of hard scientific work.
On Oct. 28, 1975, Oceanus departed the shipyard at Peterson Builders, Inc., in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., sailed through the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Gulf of Maine, and arrived Nov. 21, 1975, at its new home in Woods Hole, Mass. After five months of painting and outfitting, Oceanus was officially launched on its first scientific expedition in April 1976, led by then-Associate Scientist Robert Beardsley, now a scientist emeritus.
Alvin goes ashore for routine overhaul
A new robotic arm is just one of the upgrades expected for the submersible Alvin when it gets its periodic overhaul this winter.
During the sub’s six-month check-up, which comes after 511 dives to the seafloor since 2001, “literally every component will be taken apart for cleaning and examination,” said pilot Pat Hickey, one of the leaders of the team of WHOI pilots and engineers who service Alvin’s ballast, battery, and motor systems.
The overhaul, required by the U.S. Navy every three to five years, allows engineers to inspect every component of the sub for damage from bumps on undersea volcanoes and from exposure to the super-heated fluids spewing from hydrothermal vents.
In the 41 years since Alvin was built, each bolt, filter, pump, valve, circuit, tube, light, and battery has been replaced at least once. At sea, maintenance is ongoing; after every dive Alvinpilots scrub off corrosive salt and check nooks for wayward jellyfish to insure that dozens of electronic and mechanical parts function properly.
When Alvin returns to sea in spring 2006, it will travel onboard the research vessel Atlantis to complete recertification dives off Bermuda before returning to service for the science community. You can see the Alvin overhaul on the the Web at https://www.whoi.edu/home/alvinCam/.
Slideshow
Slideshow
- WHOI research vessel Knorr works offshore Panama City, Panama, in July?three months before passing a milestone of sailing 1 milllion miles. (Photo by Richard Thompson, University of Maryland)
- Research vessel Atlantis docks in Woods Hole, Mass., on Oct. 13, 2005, marking just the third time since its launch in 1996 that it has sailed into its home port. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- R/V Atlantis sails into Woods Hole next to R/V Oceanus, which celebrated the 30-year anniversary of its arrival iat WHOI in November. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Workers use a crane to lift the submersible Alvin from the research vessel Atlantis onto a waiting flatbed truck, used to move the sub to a shop in Woods Hole for the start of the overhaul. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Mark Spear, a pilot-in-training, stands on the sub's collection basket while removing a digital camera. Every component will be cleaned, examined, and reassembled during the overhaul. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Inside the sub, engineer Rod Catanach takes measurements of components that will be modified during the overhaul. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Mark Spear weighs and tags thrusters removed from the sub. Weighing even small objects helps the team determine how much foam will be needed to counterbalance the sub's weight. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- On the second day of the overhaul, pilot Gavin Eppard (kneeling) and pilot-in-training Anthony Berry disconnect hydraulic pumps and remove cables. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Using a crane, the team removes a 2,218-pound piece of syntactic foam, used for flotation. It will be sent out for a fresh coat of paint. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- People who dive in Alvin call this "the ball." It's the part of the sub that carries a pilot and two scientists to the seafloor for research. At this point in the overhaul, the team has removed it from its frame and has set it in a cradle. Note the three view ports; the one in the front (currently sealed to prevent scratching) is used by the pilot. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- To get into Alvin, people climb through a hatch on the top of the titanium sphere. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Pilot Bruce Strickrott (in hat) uses a crane to lift the final pieces of syntactic foam. Nearly 10,000 pounds of the floatation material is used on the sub. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Pilot Anthony Tarantino (on sphere), pilot-in- training Mark Spear, and Expedition Leader Patrick Hickey (red shirt) continue the disassembly. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- Pilot-in-training Mark Spear helps move one of eight variable ballast spheres. On dives, the spheres are pumped full of seawater to control the sub as it moves up and down. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)
- In two weeks, eight people removed thousands of bolts, hoses, and panels, as well as electric and hydraulic systems. It will take nearly three months to put Alvin together again. On the job are members of the Alvin group, including (clockwise from top left) Anthony Tarantino, Gavin Eppard, Mark Spear, Mike McCarthy, Anthony Berry, Bruce Strickrott, and Anton Zafereo. Standing in front is Expedition Leader Pat Hickey. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, WHOI)