An association of institutions for the coordination and support of University oceanographic facilities.
March 31 1995
Dr. Larry P. Atkinson
Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
Dear Larry,
Thank you for your presentation to the Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) on the MARCO consortium's planning process to develop a coastal vessel. Planning for a new generation of coastal vessels is a priority of UNOLS. The FIC is conducting a national assessment of Coastal Zone Research Vessel needs and designs. One of the specific recommendations of the 1995 UNOLS Fleet Improvement Plan is, "that Scientific Mission Requirements be established and a conceptual design study be carried out for a shallow-water, high capability, multidisciplinary coastal research vessel, together with a study of the applicability of current assets to developing coastal programs." This need is particularly acute on the east coast where the Ridgely Warfield has been retired and the Cape Henlopen, which is operating with a schedule of nearly 200 days per year, is also approaching retirement. It is, therefore, entirely appropriate that you move forward in your endeavor to plan for a coastal zone research vessel.
As you move ahead with the planning process, we urge you to follow the process adopted by UNOLS. The UNOLS process is predicated on community involvement. UNOLS vessels enjoy their great success because of our efforts to involve the community in the entire process from ship design to maintenance, operations and scheduling. As a result of such involvement, the science community strongly supports the operations of the UNOLS fleet.
The UNOLS ship design process centers around preparation of a set of Science Mission Requirements for the vessel. These SMR's drive the vessel design. Preparation of the SMR's for UNOLS designs is a task of the FIC, a group of experts with experience in most phases of shipboard science. We suggest that you involve the FIC in the design study. Prof. Don Wright of VIMS, who serves on the FIC, might be a good choice to represent FIC. One of the important issues that we have identified, after the SMR's are prepared, is the need for a community input. In the case of a coastal vessel, this would most likely be a regional workshop.
One of the strengths of UNOLS is the ability to coordinate existing assets and to ensure that they are available to the entire oceanographic community. As you finalize the Science Mission Requirements and proceed through the conceptual design you should critically assess how the existing vessels of the UNOLS Fleet can meet the requirements that are identified. If particular aspects of the SMR's can be met by existing vessels, this should be recognized and synergistic relationships developed where possible with other vessels in the fleet.
A key to this synergism, and efficient operation of the fleet, is the development of regional consortia. We would like to commend you for the regional approach that MARCO has adopted for this planning process.
Best of luck in your planning.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
Kenneth S. Johnson
UNOLS Chair
CC: Chris Mooers
Fleet Improvement Committee Chair
An association of institutions for the coordination and support of university oceanographic facilities.
January 20, 1995
Dr. Otis Brown
Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149-1098
Dear Otis,
It came to my attention at the January 12, 1995 meeting of the UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee that RSMAS is considering the construction of a coastal vessel for work in southern Florida waters as a replacement for the CALANUS. In recent years, UNOLS, through its Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC), has acquired extensive experience in the process that leads to a research vessel design. The Fleet Improvement Committee is currently involved with a national assessment of Coastal Zone Research Vessel needs and designs. They are, therefore, quite familiar with many of the challenges that you will face. Although the vessel that you are considering may not operate in the UNOLS fleet I believe that coordination of your efforts with the FIC would be in the best interests of RSMAS and the oceanographic community. This may be as simple as keeping the FIC aware of your efforts. In addition, as you proceed with your efforts, I would urge you to consider following a design process similar to that used by UNOLS.
The UNOLS process is predicated on community involvement. UNOLS vessels enjoy their great success because of our efforts to involve the community in the entire process from ship design to maintenance, operations and scheduling. As a result of such involvement, the science community strongly supports the operations of the UNOLS fleet. Without this support, we would not have the strength of the UNOLS research fleet that is in operation today.
The UNOLS ship design process centers around preparation of a set of Science Mission Requirements for the vessel. These SMR's drive the vessel design. Preparation of the SMR's for UNOLS designs is a task of the FIC, a group of experts with experience in most phases of shipboard science. One of the important issues that we have identified, after the SMR's are prepared, is the need for a community input. In the case of a coastal vessel, this would most likely be a regional workshop. I would, therefore, encourage you to consider involving potential users of your proposed vessel, who are from outside institutions, in the planning process. This will be to your benefit in the long run, especially if the vessel is ever operated as a regional facility for users from outside of RSMAS.
Following the workshop and finalization of the SMR's, a preliminary design is developed with qualified marine architects. Comments on the design are sought again from the user community. With this input a final design is produced and construction begins. Periodic reviews by the committee that developed the SMR's are used to identify and resolve problems that arise during construction
If you believe that UNOLS can be of assistance to you as you plan your vessel please do not hesitate to consult with us. Best of luck with your endeavor.
Sincerely yours
(Signed)
Kenneth S. Johnson
UNOLS Chair
CC: C. Mooers, FIC Chair --
J. Bash, Executive Secretary