University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System

 

 

Ocean Class

Science Mission Requirements

 

 

March 2003

 

 

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University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS)

Science Mission Requirements for Ocean Class Oceanographic Research Vessels

These Science Mission Requirements (SMR) were developed as part of the Academic Fleet Renewal effort outlined in the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC) report: Charting the Future for the National Academic Research Fleet – A Long-Range Plan for Renewal published in December 2001.  Funding for development of the SMR was provided to UNOLS through NSF Co-operative agreement number OCE 9988593 and through ONR Grant number N000140010742. Support and guidance for this project was provided by the following agencies:

Preface – Ocean Class Research Vessel

Science Mission Requirements

The timely replacement of the academic research fleet is vital to oceanographic research in the United States. The ships age and become more expensive to operate and they become less capable as scientific missions evolve. The Fleet Improvement Committee has over the past few years presented to the community compelling data showing that systematic replacement of the fleet must begin soon. If not, we will be using old and possibly unsafe ships and certainly ships that are not as capable as is needed.

The process used to construct new ships is many faceted, but a fundamental action is the formulation of the Science Mission Requirement: the SMR. The SMR states with as much specificity as possible what attributes the ship must have to perform the science envisioned. For example “What is the maximum sea state that a CTD cast can be taken in?” or “Is a core storage freezer needed and how big should it be?” The SMR provides a science capability framework for the steps between community input, vessel concept design, and final construction. It is not meant to serve as a final list of specifications, but as a list of science needs that may face prioritization during the funding and construction phase for the Ocean Class vessels.

This document gives the best estimate of what the Science Mission Requirements are for a Ocean Class Research Vessel. The document represents the work of over 70 people over the past 12 months. A meeting was held in Salt Lake City on July 23 and 24, 2002. Later the draft SMR was posted for public comment. Finally the Fleet Improvement Committee reviewed and finalized the document. The final document is then submitted to the UNOLS Council for approval, which it has received.

Although Mission Requirements and technology change with time this SMR represents a community consensus of what a Ocean Class vessel should be capable of in the coming years. This document should be considered a living document that should be updated as new science requirements are identified and as new technical solutions become available.

This SMR should serve as the guiding document for concept designs, preliminary designs, and construction of new Ocean Class Research Vessels.

Ocean Class Research Vessel
Science Mission Requirements

Table of Contents

OCEAN CLASS RESEARCH VESSEL SCIENCE MISSION REQUIREMENTS
Executive summary

This new class of general purpose research vessel, designed to support integrated, interdisciplinary research, should have many of the capabilities of modern Global class vessels, though Ocean class vessels will not be globally ranging. The primary requirement is a maximum capability commensurate with ship size to support science, educational, and engineering operations in all oceans, with improved over-the-side equipment handling, station keeping, and acoustic system performance while providing a stable laboratory environment for precision measurements.  These vessels should be designed to be reliable, cost effective, and flexible.

These vessels will support scientific (non-crew) parties as large as 25. Attention to the details of habitability and the design of crew and technician berthing should promote crew retention and the resulting expertise for supporting the scientific missions.  The vessel should support expeditions up to 40 days and a total range up to 10,800 nautical miles (20,000 km) at optimal transit speeds. The ship should be able to sustain 12 knots through sea state 4 with fine speed control. The vessel must have effective dynamic positioning relative to a fixed position in a 35 knots wind, sea state 5 and 2 knot current.

The design should maximize the sea-kindliness of these vessels and maximize their ability to work in sea states 5 and higher.  It is desirable for these vessels to operate 75% of the time in the winter in the Pacific Northwest and in the North Atlantic. In sea state 4 the vessel should be fully operational for all but the most demanding deployments and recoveries.

The stern working area, with a minimum of 1,500 sq ft aft of deckhouses and total space equal to at least 2,000 sq ft, should be open and as clear as possible from one side of the ship to the other and highly flexible to accommodate large and heavy temporary equipment.  In addition, a contiguous work area along one side should provide a minimum of 80 ft clear deck area along the rail. The area should be designed to provide a dry working deck with provisions for allowing safe access for deployment and recovery of free-floating equipment to and from the water.

Additional deck areas should be provided with the means for flexible and effective installation of incubators, vans, workboats and temporary equipment. There should be maximum visibility of deck work areas and alongside during science operations and especially during deployment and retrieval of equipment. Voice communications systems between the bridge, labs, working decks and machinery spaces should be designed to effectively enhance ship control during science operations.

The design of weight handling appliances to safely and effectively deploy, recover, and sometimes tow a wide variety of scientific equipment should be considered at the earliest stages of the design cycle. The entire suite of over the side handling equipment including winches, wires, cranes, frames, booms and other appliances should be considered as a system. Designs for over the side appliances and equipment should include innovative thinking and consider ideas that will reduce the amount of human intervention necessary for launch and recovery of equipment, both on wires and un-tethered, and that will control packages from the water to the deck.  This will enhance personnel safety, reduce manning level requirements, increase operability in heavier weather and protect science and ship's equipment. The winches should provide fine control and have maximum speeds of at least 100 m/min. The ship should be capable of towing large scientific packages continuously for extended periods of time.  A suite of modern cranes should be provided to handle heavy and large equipment and that can reach all working deck areas. The capability of offloading vans and equipment weighing up to 20,000 lbs to a pier or vehicle in port is desirable.

Total lab space should be approximately 2,000 sq ft including: Main (dry) lab area designed to be flexible for frequent subdivision providing smaller specialized labs; separate wet lab/hydro lab located contiguous to sampling areas; climate controlled work space or chamber and an electronics/computer lab.  A high bay/hanger space for multiple purposes adjacent to the aft main deck should support protected set up and repair of equipment, sample sorting and other related functions. Flexibility and support for different types of science operations within limited space are the important design criteria for these vessels. Benches and cabinetry should be flexible and reconfigurable.  A separate electronics repair shop/work space for resident technicians should be included. Storage space for resident technician spares and tools should be defined in the design and not part of useable laboratory space. There should be some provision of dedicated storage/ workshop space for science and ship use.  There should be accessible safe storage for chemical reagents and hazardous (non-radioactive) materials.

Lab areas need to have separate electrical circuits on a clean bus with un-interruptible power available wherever needed. Seawater systems should be designed to provide uncontaminated seawater to all science work areas and higher volume seawater to maintain incubation experiments at ambient surface temperatures. The best available navigation systems will be provided for geo-referencing of all data, for dynamic positioning and ship control as part of an integrated information system.  Internal and external communications systems will provide high-quality voice communications and continuous high-speed data communications throughout the ship and with shore stations, other ships, aircraft, and data sources.

Space should be available to carry two standardized 8 ft by 20 ft portable deck vans that may be laboratory, berthing, storage, or other specialized use and up to two additional portable, possibly non-standard size, vans on superstructure and working decks is required. At least one 16-ft or larger inflatable boat located for ease of launching and recovery is also required. The variable science load should be between 100 and 200 LT.

The ship should be as acoustically quiet as practicable in the choice of all shipboard systems, their location, and installation.  Propeller(s) are to be designed for minimal cavitation, and hull form should attempt to minimize bubble sweep down.   Design criteria for noise reduction should take into account reducing radiated noise into the water that may affect biological research objectives, acoustic system performance and habitability.

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting appropriate to berthing, laboratories, vans, and other interior spaces being served should be carefully engineered and designed to be effective in all potential operating areas.

A thorough evaluation of construction costs, outfitting costs, annual operating costs and long-term maintenance costs should be conducted during the design cycle in order to determine the impact of design features on the total life cycle cost.   The design should ensure that the vessel could be effectively and safely operated in support of science by a well-trained but relatively small number of crew. The regional conditions, available ports and shore side services should be considered during the design process.

Summary of Ocean Class Science Mission Requirements

OCEAN CLASS RESEARCH VESSEL

UNOLS Science Mission Requirements

Mission statement and overall characteristics

This is a new class of vessel proposed by the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC) Long-Range Plan for Academic Fleet Renewal and further defined by these science mission requirements. Designed to support integrated, interdisciplinary research, Ocean Class ships will be ocean going, with many of the capabilities of modern Global Class vessels, though not globally ranging. They will be somewhat smaller and more efficient to operate than the Global Class vessels. However, they will substantially expand the existing capabilities provided by most of the older Intermediate Class UNOLS ships.

These ships are to serve as general-purpose research vessels. The primary requirement is a maximum capability commensurate with ship size in order to support science, educational, and engineering operations in all oceans, with improved over-the-side equipment handling, station keeping, and acoustic system performance while providing a stable laboratory environment for precision measurements. These vessels will provide for larger scientific parties and greater flexibility in use of laboratory/deck spaces than are now available aboard intermediate-size ships. Some may be configured to accommodate ice-margin research, fisheries related oceanography, underway survey operations or other specialized missions.

To accomplish these goals there are several features that should receive high priority during the early design cycle phases. These vessels should be acoustically quiet in terms of radiated noise and so that hull mounted acoustic systems can function at their maximum capability. Sea-keeping and station-keeping capabilities will be important design drivers as well. Education and public outreach is becoming an important function during research cruises and the personnel and equipment to carry out this mission should be considered during design. Paying attention to habitability issues such as noise control, vibration, ventilation, lighting, and aesthetics will also increase the effectiveness and health of the crew and science party.

The specification of scientific and operational equipment outfitting should be carefully planned so that the delivered vessel is equipped with the currently best available equipment. Expert scientific, technical, and operational groups should provide guidance and advice on design criteria for all key scientific and operational systems. Experience with the design of past research vessels as well as innovative new approaches should be used to provide designs that will serve the community well for three decades.

These vessels should be designed to be reliable, cost effective, and flexible. The ability to easily maintain these vessels with minimal manning during full operating years should be a design criterion. Designs should also anticipate major machinery overhaul and replacement, as well as future improvements. Fuel efficiency and reliability of machinery and equipment will serve to reduce the life cycle cost of these vessels. The design cycle should consider carefully the tradeoffs between initial acquisition costs and long term operating costs.

Science Mission Requirements (SMR) - Overview

The purpose of the science mission requirements is to set down design features and parameters that should be used as guidelines during the various design phases. There are some areas where there will be tradeoffs between two or more desired capabilities. By allowing more than one concept design, the possibility of finding ways to minimize these tradeoffs will be enhanced. A key concept is that ship systems are completely integrated with the science mission for these vessels. Sample mission profiles are included in Appendix I to provide examples of how these vessels might be used. It is possible that not all requirements can be fully realized in any one design and it will be necessary to refine priorities during the design phases. Concept, Preliminary, and Construction design efforts should consider all elements in these requirements and make conscious decisions on how and if they can be addressed. These science mission requirements are organized with the following elements.

 
Mission statement

Overview of SMRs

Size, cost, and general requirements

Accommodations and habitability
Accommodations
Habitability

Operational characteristics
Endurance
Range
Speed
Sea keeping
Station keeping
Track line following
Ship control
Ice strengthening

Over-the-side and weight handling
Over the side handling
Winches
Wires
Cranes
Towing

Science working spaces
Working deck area
Laboratories
            Type & number
            Layout & construction
            Electrical
Water & air

Science working spaces (cont.)
Vans
Storage
Science load
Workboats
Masts
On deck incubations
Marine mammal & bird observations

Science and shipboard systems
Navigation
Data network and onboard computing
Real time data acquisition system
Communications - internal
Communications – external
U/W data collection & sampling
Acoustic systems
Project science system installation and power
Discharges

Construction, operation & maintenance
Maintainability
Operability
Life cycle costs
Regulatory issues

Mission Scenarios

Science Mission Requirements - Details

Size and cost constraints (FOFC fleet renewal parameters)

The design phases will determine the overall size and cost of this vessel. However, the target size and cost were set in the FOFC Academic Fleet Renewal Plan and serve as a benchmark for the design of this class of vessel. In general, these vessels will serve the science demands falling between those services provided by the existing Global Class vessels and the new Regional Class vessels. The FOFC parameters were defined as:

Cost: $50 million (This is interpreted to mean the total cost for design, construction, and outfitting in 2001 dollars).

These parameters are defined further by the science mission requirements described in this document. It is envisioned that all or most of these vessels will fall in the middle of the size range defined, that endurance will be 40 days, and that science berths will be at least 20 with surge capacity to 25 or more. The specified range has the potential for driving the size of the vessel beyond what is economical and may be an area where compromise will be needed.

Draft is a design element that should be considered carefully as the size of the vessel evolves. A shallower draft, less than the 19-foot draft of the THOMPSON Class vessels is desirable for operations in shallow waters and to allow shallow depth mounting of ADCP transducers. On the other hand, a deeper draft could increase sea-keeping capabilities (which is a high priority for these vessels) and allow for increased endurance. The OCEANUS Class vessels that these vessels will replace have a draft between 18 and 19 feet, which contributes to their sea-keeping ability. Access to normal ports of call should be considered so that the operation of this vessel is not too severely restricted because of a draft that precludes all but a few ports.

Cost will be a significant factor influencing the design, construction, and outfitting of these vessels. The budget and funding mechanisms available to the sponsoring agency for these vessels will determine the total budget for design, construction, and outfitting. The FOFC plan sets this number at approximately 50 million dollars per vessel in 2001 dollars. The actual amount available for detailed design and construction will be less than 50 million depending on how much is required for project management, outfitting and preliminary design costs. Long term operating costs should be considered carefully in the design process so that decisions are not made that would drive up the yearly operating and maintenance costs. These vessels should be nearly as capable as Global Class vessels, but should use a smaller portion of the funds available for ocean science support.

Accommodations & habitability

Accommodations

Twenty to 25 non-crew personnel in one or two-person staterooms with every attempt to keep the number at the upper end of the range is highly desired. The number of crew and therefore the total complement will be determined by the Coast Guard Letter of Inspection, the support requirements for the scientific mission, and proper maintenance of the vessel. The concept of including temporary accommodations that can be used when needed (i.e., surge capacity) is important to the flexibility of these vessels to support a wider range of potential projects.

The design of accommodations needs to be for optimum habitability for the normal science party size, but with the ability to expand to larger science party sizes when needed. Supporting infrastructure would be designed around the largest possible complement. Shower and toilet facilities should support no more than four people per unit when there is a normal size of science party. Staterooms should be designed to optimize the available space. Providing basic storage, washbasins, and limited workspace should be attempted in the design. Additional storage and larger workstations could be provided in common space elsewhere. Provisions should be made to accommodate gender imbalance.

The maritime crew and resident technicians should be berthed in single person staterooms to the maximum extent possible in order to promote crew retention and the resulting expertise for supporting the scientific mission.

The non-crew personnel (i.e., the Science Party) would consist of the personnel from the various scientific programs, the assigned marine technicians, technical support personnel for certain types of instrumentation (e.g. JASON II group, OBS groups, coring groups, etc.), foreign observers, education and outreach personnel, and anyone else not part of the maritime crew.

Habitability

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) appropriate to berthing, laboratories, vans, and other interior spaces being served should be engineered and designed to be effective in all potential operating areas. Laboratories shall maintain temperatures of 70-75° F, 50% relative humidity, and 9 to 11 air changes per hour in all intended operating areas, taking into account the full range of external sea water and air temperatures. Maintaining internal environmental conditions should consider the anticipated number of door openings (in a given period of time), and/or the normal door positions (open or closed) for each compartment’s intended purpose.

Air circulation rates should meet shore lab standards and SNAME standards for HVAC.

At least some lab space should be clean for chemical analysis. This analytical lab space requires separate ventilation and/or organic filters, and, if possible, located in a separate lab space or specialized van.

The design should support maintaining acceptable noise levels throughout the ship and utilize specifications and standards applicable to vessels (USCG NVIC 12–82, IMO Resolution A.468 (XII) and OSHA regulation: 29CFR1910.95). These noise standards should be met as closely as possible at normal cruising speeds or in Dynamic Position (DP) mode, with ventilation systems operating at maximum levels, acoustic systems operating at maximum power, and with deck machinery operating. Noise reduction engineering should be integrated with design efforts at the earliest stages in order to incorporate noise level considerations in decisions about layout and arrangement of spaces.

Vibration should be minimized using ABS and/or SNAME standards, and provisions should be made for mounting sensitive instrumentation in a manner to compensate for vibration and ship motion. Ship’s motion is an important design criterion that will affect habitability and is addressed in the sea-keeping section.

Lighting levels should meet shore laboratory or office standards (OSHA). Lighting levels should be controllable for individual areas within labs to accommodate requirements for microscope work or other low light requirements. The ability to maximize the amount of natural lighting through the use of a sufficient number of port lights in lab spaces, staterooms, and common spaces should be included in the design.

HVAC performance, noise, vibration, and lighting standards should be defined for all occupied spaces on the vessel.

The productivity of all personnel sailing in these vessels can be enhanced by providing comfortable, aesthetically pleasing spaces, and by including, to the extent possible, areas for off-hour activities other than staterooms and workspaces such as a library, lounge, or conference room with tables, good lighting, video capability, and etc. Providing equipment and space for exercise should be considered. Staterooms should include connections to the ship’s network and entertainment systems, but they need also to be separated from the noise associated with off-hour activities.

Operational characteristics

Endurance & range

Total endurance should be forty days, providing the ability to transit for 20 days at cruising speed and for 20 days of station work (see station keeping and towing). Some mission profiles will require continuous underway survey or towing operations at speeds from 4 knots up to the normal cruising speed. The ability to conduct this type of cruise for up to 30+ days is desired. The design process should consider the impacts on engines, water making capability, and other factors when on station or moving at slow speeds for extended periods of time.

Up to 10,800 nautical miles (20,000 km) total range at optimal cruising speed is desirable. A minimum of 8,000 nautical miles at optimal cruising speed is required. Range should be maximized without sacrificing sea-keeping ability and without driving the size and cost of the vessel beyond available funds.

Speed

14 - 15 knots maximum speed at sea trial in calm seas and 12 knots sustainable through sea state 4 (1.25 – 2.5 m wave heights) is desirable. An optimum cruising speed of at least 12 knots is desired, but should not come at the cost of decreased sea-keeping ability, excessive fuel consumption, or excessive noise.

Speed control in sea state 4 or less (< 2.5 meters wave height) should be

0.1 knot in the 0-6 knot range and
0.2 knot in the 6-14 knot range.

Sea-keeping

Sea-keeping is the ability to carry out the mission of the vessel while maintaining crew comfort and safety, and maintaining equipment operability. It is an important design criterion to maximize the sea-kindliness of these vessels and maximize their ability to work in sea states five (2.5 – 4 m wave heights) and higher within the constraints of their overall size. It is desirable for these vessels to operate 75% of the time in the winter in the Pacific Northwest and in the North Atlantic. Bilge keels, anti-roll tanks or other methods to reduce the motions of these vessels should be used to enhance sea-keeping.

In sea state four (1.25 – 2.5 m wave heights) the vessel should be fully operational for all but the most demanding deployments and recoveries.

In sea state five these vessels should be able to:

• Maintain underway science operations at 9 knots