Research Vessels
MBARI's flagship research vessel is the R/V Western Flyer, a 35.6-meter (117-foot) small water-plane area twin hull (SWATH) ship deploying the remotely operated underwater vehicle, ROV Doc Ricketts, through a moon pool in the center of the ship. The Western Flyer has supported ROV dives along much of the west coast of North America, from the Gulf of California to Vancouver Island, as well as around the Hawaiian islands.
In December 2011, MBARI retired the R/V Point Lobos after 23 years of service. In 2012, MBARI will also be retiring the R/V Zephyr, which has served as a launch platform for MBARI's autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). These two boats will be replaced by a single, larger boat, the Rachel Carson, which MBARI purchased in the summer of 2011, and which is expected to be operational in 2012. Rachel Carson will be able to launch both ROVs and AUVs, as well as conduct multi-day expeditions.
Read more about this topic: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
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