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Next Generation European Research Vessels: Current Status and Foreseeable Evolution
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The ocean is intrinsically linked to many of the global challenges facing the world, including climate change, food and water security, and health, and we will require better understanding of the ocean and its ecosystems to develop and adapt. As key marine science research infrastructures, research vessels play a key role in supporting and enabling this critical research. It is therefore vital to have a clear overview of the current research vessels fleet, its capabilities and its equipment, and hence its ability to support these science needs. It is also appropriate to take a strategic look forward to emerging and future needs, so that steps can be taken to ensure that the fleet remains able to provide this support. It is also important that this critical importance of research vessels is clearly and widely communicated, to ensure that the appropriate support is made available to ensure they can continue to provide a high level of support to science.
This publication presents an overview of the current fleet, its capabilities and equipment, and its management. It then looks to the future, highlighting what will be needed to ensure that the European fleet can continue to provide the same high level of support to science, in particular in specialized areas such as the deep-sea and Polar regions. It also goes beyond the fleet itself, to consider the training of fleet personnel, fleet management, and the role of research vessels in the wider context of ocean observations and the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS). It also explores ways in which greater efficiencies could be achieved at local, regional and European scale, to ensure the best possible use is made of these infrastructures. This publication is the result of a collaboration with the European Research Vessel Operators.
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... Literature review [13][14][15] shows that these ships have an important role in scientific research and development in the fields: biology and marine ecology, physical oceanography, study and analysis of mineral and energetic substances, impact studies on the marine environment, including environmental assessments, etc. If necessary, these vessels may carry out logistical support operations for the maintenance of marine systems. ...
... In 2022, Romania owns the oceanographic ship Mare Nigrum, which was built in 1971, being integrated in the Eurofleets consortium [14]. Mare Nigrum is a ship that can carry out multidisciplinary research activities, which belongs to the National Marine Alarm Monitoring Center for Natural Hazards Euxinus [16]. ...
The analysis of European bodies and agencies in the field of maritime safety management highlights the limited capacity to respond to potential disasters in the coastal and port areas of the Romanian state. Starting from this situation, the PLATMARISC project builds an intervention strategy based on an integrated risk management system that facilitates both multidisciplinary oceanographic research and monitoring and management of potential coastal and port disasters.
... However, sampling the deep Ocean at the appropriate frequency to estimate biodiversity still mostly requires long research cruises to distant places on expensive research vessels. For more information, see EMB Future Science Brief N°. 3 on Biological Ocean Observations(Benedetti-Cecchi et al., 2018), and EMB Position Paper N°. 25 on Research Vessels(Nieuwejaar et al., 2019). ...
Navigating the Future VI is a flagship foresight EMB Position Paper that explores the role of the Ocean in the wider Earth system and promotes collaboration between disciplines to tackle global issues. This document aims to influence and guide international, European and national research funding programmes, policy development and inspire the scientific community. This publication aligns with and provides input to important initiatives such as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU Mission: Restore our Ocean and Waters, aiming to enhance awareness of the Ocean's critical role in addressing the climate, fresh water and biodiversity crises while supporting human health and wellbeing.
... That is, the MESM needs to obey stricter noise requirements in the deep sea than close to the port. The reasons are that the animals in the deep sea are more vulnerable to URN and ship noise can travel far in the deep-sea environment, both causing greater impacts on marine life [29]. ...
Increasing multi-energy coordination in the ship necessitates advanced operation strategies to achieve greenhouse gas reduction and energy efficiency improvement in the maritime industry. However, previous research always overlooks onboard heterogeneous energy carriers and ship power distribution networks (SPDN), as well as underwater radiated noise (URN) generated by ship propellers. This will pose a huge threat to the operational safety of the multi-energy ship microgrids (MESMs) and further harm normal marine life. Hence, this paper formulates a coordinated model for a MESM with combined power, thermal, hydrogen, and freshwater flows. First, the joint energy management and voyage scheduling are modeled for the MESM, considering SPDN constraints and URN limits. Then, a copula-based two-stage operation structure with stochastic programming (SP) and rolling horizon (RH) methods is designed to tackle diverse uncertainties from onboard multi-energy loads and renewable energy. Finally, a progressive hedging (PH) algorithm is developed to support distributed calculation and accelerate the solution. Numerical case studies based on a real voyage in the Nordic countries are used to validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed model and method.
... Based on the explanation in section 3.1.2, the retrofit requirements are: Changing the propulsion system from a conventional mechanic diesel system to a diesel-electric system Installing the DP system that consists of a power, control, and thrusters system The service speed of the vessel should be eight (8) The dynamic Positioning system is critical for RV due to its capability to maintain ships in certain positions (stationk'eeping) to improve the accuracy of data acquisition [24]. Moreover, the DP system is desirable for effective and efficient operations. ...
Ship retrofitting is one alternative solution to extend a ship’s life. Several component replacements were performed in the retrofitting process, remodelings to the ship’s main dimension, and state-of-the-art equipment and technology were added. As one of the ships that require regular renewal, especially in research equipment, retrofit processes are often carried out on research vessels. The current problem in the retrofit process for research vessels, especially in Indonesia, is that retrofits are not carried out with established methodology and planning. Thus, some retrofit projects are limited to major repairs and do not extend the ship’s life or performance. To solve that problem, a developed methodology for ship retrofitting was proposed, which consists of selecting the ship and the type of retrofit and its components, determining retrofit requirements, and designing the ship based on the retrofit project. In the design process, a modified spiral design is explicitly used for the retrofit process with some alterations compared with the conventional one, which is focused on analyzing the suitability and availability of space, consumable and tank requirements, analysis of power requirements, risk analysis, and project execution plan. A case study of this developed methodology has been undertaken in the concept design phase of RV Baruna Jaya 1’s retrofit, and the results show that the methodology is considered helpful as an approach for ship retrofitting. Moreover, several considerations were also obtained from the concept design stage and had to be analyzed at the following design stage to meet the retrofit design requirements.
... The Arctic is rich in natural resources, and according to the assessment report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey, the untapped natural gas in the Arctic accounts for 30% of the world (Nieuwejaar et al., 2019). At the same time, the opening of the Arctic route will greatly shorten the distance between East Asia and Western Europe. ...
Icing not only affects the stability and safety of Arctic navigation ships but also damages the facilities on board and endangers the safety of personnel. The icing result on the ship’s surface is closely related to the icing process of water droplets on the surface. In the icing process of supercooled water droplets colliding with the ship surface, the impact and icing are coupled with each other. This process is extremely sensitive. The final ice type and physical parameters will change due to the external disturbance. Therefore, in order to obtain accurate ship icing results, the micro impact icing process of water droplets on the surface needs to be considered. From the microscopic point of view, using the numerical simulation method of solidification/melting model in Fluent, this article analyzes the effects of undercooling, contact angle, and droplet impact on the microscopic solidification process of supercooled droplets, and the results show that 1) droplet impact affects the droplet volume; 2) as the impact velocity increases, the freezing time decreases; 3) in the case of the same impact velocity, the freezing time and cooling time vary very closely even if the degree of undercooling and contact angle are different.
... Despite much improvement generally to the health and safety of research vessel operations, a gender-sensitive perspective is rarely specifically considered or referenced in ship technical specifications and operations. A case in point is the European Marine Board's recently published report "Next Generation European Research Vessels Current Status and Foreseeable Evolution" (Nieuwejaar et al., 2019); the report makes no specific mention of gender and fails to consider the changing gender demographic of the research workforce. Oceangoing research often requires some degree of manual handling of equipment and samples. ...
Since the 1950s, there has been an increase of women participating in ocean-going science. However, the number of women scientists in the field remains significantly less than that of men, especially in senior roles. In this commentary, we take a feminist perspective to understand the challenges women face in pursuing a career in ocean-going science. Based on the limited literature and reports of women in ocean-going research, we identified several cultural and structural barriers and constraints faced by women. These fell into four main categories: (1) behavioral/social norms and gender-biased culture in science and at sea; (2) failure to provide for balancing duties of family care with extended periods away from home; (3) gender-insensitive design of ship facilities, operations, and personal protective equipment (PPE); and (4) the need for a safe working environment at sea; i.e., gender-related aspects of health, safety, and personal security at sea. To overcome these barriers, the following interventions are suggested: (1) greater awareness raising and training to shift destructive mindsets as well as affecting behavioral and cultural change; (2) consideration of gender-sensitive design and safe operation of research vessels; and (3) more comprehensive and effective implementation of gender equality policies for research at sea.
Marine research equipment is critical for the development of marine science. In recent years, China has made breakthroughs regarding the independent research and development of marine research equipment, and some types of the equipment have reached the advanced international level; however, technologies for the equipment still face various challenges. In this paper, the current status of the marine research equipment is reviewed, including research vessels, underwater vehicles, buoys, marine sensors, and marine observation networks. The problems encountered in the technical development of China’s marine research equipment are analyzed from the aspects of key components, technology research and development, data management, basic support, and demand matching. The future development trends are summarized, namely, green, unmanned, intelligent, and collaborative development for deep sea and polar sea research needs. Meanwhile, the key and core technologies for the overall and each category of marine research equipment are analyzed. To provide references for further promoting the rapid development of marine research equipment, the following development suggestions are proposed: sorting out the technical shortcomings, strengthening the coordination of resources to improve supporting capacity, improving the innovation mechanism to promote interdisciplinarity, strengthening the role of the market to promote the industrialization process, and relying on advanced scientific research platforms to expand international cooperation.
Sustained observations and forecasting systems are fundamental to advance our knowledge and understanding of the functioning of the Mediterranean Sea and its ecosystems, and to efficiently respond to maritime emergencies, societal needs, and preservation threats. This chapter describes the present status of the Mediterranean observing and forecasting systems that were successfully developed over the recent decades, thanks to both national and regional investments and fruitful international collaborations. On the one hand, the complementarity between global observing systems and multiplatform regional observatories enables a systematic monitoring of the Mediterranean Sea from the basin to the coastal scales. On the other hand, operational high-resolution modeling combined with data assimilation procedures provide the base for integrated model-data forecasting systems generating timely predictions of the short-term evolution of marine conditions and realistic representations of past periods. Data assembly centers are essential backbone of these systems, allowing data standardization, quality control, distribution, and archiving.
The role ships play in atmospheric, oceanic, and biogeochemical observations is described with a focus on measurements made near the ocean surface. Ships include merchant and research vessels; cruise liners and ferries; fishing vessels; coast guard, military, and other government-operated ships; yachts; and a growing fleet of automated surface vessels. The present capabilities of ships to measure essential climate/ocean variables and the requirements from a broad community to address operational, commercial, and scientific needs are described. The authors provide a vision to expand observations needed from ships to understand and forecast the exchanges across the ocean–atmosphere interface. The vision addresses (1) recruiting vessels to improve both spatial and temporal sampling, (2) conducting multivariate sampling on ships, (3) raising technology readiness levels of automated shipboard sensors and ship-to-shore data communications, (4) advancing quality evaluation of observations, and (5) developing a unified data management approach for observations and metadata that meet the needs of a diverse user community. Recommendations are made focusing on integrating private and autonomous vessels into the observing system, investing in sensor and communications technology development, developing an integrated data management structure that includes all types of ships, and moving toward a quality evaluation process that will result in a subset of ships being defined as mobile reference ships that will support climate studies. We envision a future where commercial, research, and privately owned vessels are making multivariate observations using a combination of automated and human-observed measurements. All data and metadata will be documented, tracked, evaluated, distributed, and archived to benefit users of marine data. This vision looks at ships as a holistic network, not a set of disparate commercial, research, and/or third-party activities working in isolation, to bring these communities together for the mutual benefit of all.
Navigating the Future is a publication series produced by the European Marine Board providing future perspectives on marine science and technology in Europe. Navigating the Future V (NFV) highlights new knowledge obtained since Navigating the Future IV1 (2013). It is set within the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement2 and builds on the scienti c basis and recommendations of the IPCC reports3. NFV gives recommendations on the science required during the next decade to deliver the ocean we need to support a sustainable future. This will be important for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development4 (2021 – 2030), the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals5 and the European Commission’s next framework programme, Horizon Europe6 (2021 - 2027). There is a growing need to strengthen the links between marine science, society and policy since we cannot properly manage what we do not know.
In recent years, the ocean and seas have received new prominence in international agendas. To secure a safe planet a priority is the management of the ocean as a “common good for humanity”, which requires smarter observations to assess of the state of the ocean and predictions about how it may change in the future. The ocean is a three-dimensional space that needs to be managed over time (thus four-dimensional), and there is a need for management and conservation practices that integrate the structure and function of marine ecosystems into these four dimensions (Chapter 2). This includes understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal interplay between ocean physics, chemistry and biology. Multiple stressors including climate change, pollution and over- shing affect the ocean and we need to better understand and predict their interactions and identify tipping points to decide on management priorities (Chapter 3). This should integrate our understanding of land-ocean-atmosphere processes and approaches to reducing impacts. An improved science base is also needed to help predict and minimize the impact of extreme events such as storm surges, heat waves, dynamic sea- oor processes and tsunamis (Chapter 4). New technologies, data handling and modelling approaches will help us to observe, understand and manage our use of the four- dimensional ocean and the effect of multiple stressors (Chapter 5).
Addressing these issues requires a strategic, collective and holistic approach and we need to build a community of sustainability scientists that are able to provide evidence-based support to policy makers within the context of major societal challenges (Chapter 6). We outline new frontiers, knowledge gaps and recommendations needed to manage the ocean as a common good and to develop solutions for a sustainable future (Chapter 7). The governance of sustainability should be at the core of the marine research agenda through co-production and collaboration with stakeholders to identify priorities. There is need for a fully integrated scienti c assessment of resilience strategies, associated trade-offs and underlying ethical concepts for the ocean, which should be incorporated into decision support frameworks that involve stakeholders from the outset. To allow the collection, processing and access to all data, a key priority is the development of a business model that ensures the long-term economic sustainability of ocean observations.
Marine ecosystem models are an important approach to: integrate knowledge, data, and
information; improve understanding on ecosystem functioning; and complement monitoring and observation efforts. They also offer the potential to predict the response of marine ecosystems to future scenarios and to support the implementation of ecosystem-based management of our seas and ocean.
There are many marine ecosystem models, but there is no single model that can answer all policy questions,
making it difficult to achieve a fully end-to-end (E2E) model. In each case the context, specific knowledge
and scale need to be taken into account to design a model with the appropriate level of complexity. It is more
practical to assemble several models in order to reach the full E2E spectrum. This requires a transdisciplinary
approach and the inclusion of socio-economic drivers.
This Future Science Brief has identified the following research and development needs to improve model
development as well as key recommendations to strengthen the marine ecosystem modelling capability:
• Collect and incorporate new data and information into marine ecosystem models;
• Model marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, based on critical understanding of marine ecosystems;
• Model changes in behaviour, based on understanding adaptive responses in marine organisms;
• Evaluate and reduce uncertainty in marine ecosystem forecasting; and
• Use new approaches in machine learning to enhance marine ecosystem models.
Key recommendations to strengthen marine ecosystem modelling capability include:
• Enhance models by identifying crucial unavailable data, linking models to new and existing observations
and data, and by strengthening links to data assimilation centers;
• Increase model predictability through coordinated model experiments and the ensemble approach;
• Develop a shared knowledge platform for marine models and support the development of next generation
models;
• Make marine ecosystem models more relevant to management and policy by being more transparent about
model limitations and the uncertainties in their predictions; including socio-economic drivers; promoting
co-design and dialogue between model developers and users; and
• Enhance trans-disciplinary connections and training opportunities.
Europe lacks a multi-purpose integrated biological ocean observing system. The Future Science Brief recommends building an integrated biological ocean observation system, while supporting current capacity. Europe needs a strategic vision to increase the relevant biological ocean observation capacity. We also need to bring together key stakeholders, to provide the long-term support for an integrated ocean observing system that contributes to the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) and harmonized with the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). In addition, support is needed for current biological ocean observation capacity, especially in taxonomic expertise and in the use of new emerging technologies, data science and management.
Building on developments resultant from the 1990s European Grand Challenges in Marine Research initiative, the Marine Board was established by its Member Organizations in 1995, operating within the European Science Foundation (ESF). The Marine Board’s membership is composed of major National marine scientific institutes and / or funding agencies. At present, 16 countries are represented by one or two agencies or institutes per country, giving a total membership of 23. The Marine Board operates via an elected Executive Committee, consisting of one Chairperson and four Vice Chairpersons. The Marine Board also confers permanent observer status to the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.
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D3.1: Status and foreseeable evolution of the European and International Polar Research Fleets & Equipment
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D7.3: Report on DANA floating university pilot experiment
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D3.3: Identification of the high priority investigation areas equipment requirement
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