0830 Meeting called to order by Bob Knox, UNOLS Chair, introduced the key issue for UNOLS, principally the FOFC fleet renewal

Introduction and Welcome: The annual meeting of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System was held on Friday, September 27,2002 at the National Science Foundation, Room 1235, Arlington, VA. Robert Knox, UNOLS Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Bob acknowledged the accomplishments of UNOLS over the past year and then introduced the key issue for UNOLS, principally the published FOFC fleet renewal plan. The agenda for the meeting is attached as Appendix I. A list of meeting participants is included as Appendix II.

UNOLS Committee Reports:

Research Vessel Operators’ Committee (RVOC), Tim Askew - Tim gave the report for Steve Rabalais who could not attend due to inclement weather in the Gulf region. Tim reviewed the Agenda for the upcoming RVOC Annual Meeting to be hosted by Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institution on October 15-17, 2002. The agenda can be viewed at http://www.unols.org/meetings/2002/200210rvo/200210rvoag.html

Research Vessel Technical Enhancement Committee (RVTEC), Annette DeSilva - Annette reported for Dale Chayes by reading his written report. Dale mentioned progress on the wire design effort, standards of technical service, SMR contributions and plans for the upcoming INMARTECH 2002 meeting. Dale’s full report is contained in Appendix IIIa.

Deep Submergence Science Committee (DESSC), Patty Fryer - Patty gave a PowerPoint presentation on DESSC activities for the past year. She discussed the outreach efforts to the Biology community that culminated in the special sessions held at the February 2002 Ocean Sciences meeting in Hawaii. She reported on the Shallow Water Submergence Science Committee, which is an ad-hoc committee of UNOLS. Also reported on were items covered during the spring DESSC meeting. Patty discussed Dan Fornari’s plans to step down from his position as the NDSF Chief Scientist and the need to find a suitable replacement. DESSC will recommend that a single individual as opposed to a committee of several people fill the position. Patty’s viewgraphs are contained in Appendix IIIb.

Patty said that a report was received from the first science cruise using the new ROV JASON II, that praised how well the system worked and what was accomplished.

Patty then listed the general capabilities that are being considered for an ALVIN replacement. A few mentioned included:

Improved manipulation ability

Greater external sample storage and increased science payload

Depth capability to 6000-7000m

Greater speed

Improved science sensors and tools

Improved maneuverability

Increased power for propulsion and payload

Greater endurance and improved ergonomics (longer dive time)

Better visibility and lighting

Patty then reported on DESSC’s plans to be involved with and to assist in the planning for this vehicle. Some of the members of DESSC are also members of WHOI’s New ALVIN Design Advisory Committee (NADAC). There was a discussion regarding whether Human Occupied Vehicles (HOVs) or ROVs were the most effective tool for submergence science. DESSC recommends a suit of vehicles that would include both HOVs and ROVs. Benefits of an HOV include engagement of the operator, visibility in 3-D (Example: ROV pilots are often surprised by what the bottom often looks like in 3D), maneuverability and reliability of HOVs (work around vents is often challenging with ROVs as a result of their tether), unobtrusiveness, and the capacity for outreach education and recruitment are greater. Patty said that the issue of developing a full ocean depth HOV had been raised as a possibility during the past year. A full ocean depth HOV would probably require a much larger mother vessel and support system. There are other issues such as mode of operations and economics that lead DESSC to believe that resources could be better used to develop a 6000 plus meter HOV and deeper diving AUVs or ROVs. Patty reported that DESSC has put together a paper explaining the science benefits to be achieved by use of an HOV and has sent this paper to the Agencies. Patty also reported that she provided a statement to the Ocean Commission regarding the continued need for an HOV. In summary, DESSC recommends a 6500-7000 meter HOV, and an AUV vehicle for work at full ocean depth.

Patty then went over some of the results of technology and tools discussions at the NOAA/NASA LINK Symposium. Andy Shepherd (NURC) will formulate inventory lists of submergence tools and sensors to be linked to the UNOLS Website on the DESSC Page.

Also reported were the outreach efforts to other research disciplines and the public such as:

AGU/ASLO Special Sessions, Honolulu.

Reaching out to non-traditional fields such as marine archaeology

Lectureship program in association with RIDGE

Patty closed by going over DESSC Plans for fall 2002 and then announced that Marv Lilley-UW and Joris Gieskes-SIO will be leaving DESSC and that Debbie Kelly-UW and Hedy Edmonds-UT will be joining.

Ship Scheduling Committee (SSC), Joe Ustach - Joe reported on the results of scheduling efforts for 2003. Ship Utilization is up 9%. This equates to approximately 5400 ship days in 2003 and 4900 ship days in 2002. Joe reported that most of the major scheduling issues were worked out in advance and that this is a credit to the program managers and schedulers. Joe said that utilization for the small ships is 100% and the large ships are at 98%. Joe’s written report is contained in Appendix IIId.

Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC), Lisa Clough - Lisa reported on the successful operations in the Antarctic with POLAR SEA and POLAR STAR. In the Arctic, there were some clearance issues with native communities that had to do with subsistence fishing/hunting as well as cultural differences. Due to this situation, HEALY had to reverse a cruise track in order to avoid conflicts with whaling activities. Lisa suggests that more discussion needs to be held with the native communities prior to cruises. Lisa said that AICC would also like to extend the de-brief issues to both POLAR SEA and POLAR STAR. Mention was also made of underway data collection that could help fulfill Law of the Sea (LOS) requirements. Larry Mayer of UNH volunteered to develop a proposal to accomplish this. Lisa went on to state that AICC has recommended no use of radioisotopes inside the skin of the ships. Radioisotope work should be carried out in radiation vans. The USCG endorsed this policy. Lisa said that berthing space on icebreakers has been an issue and that the USCG will clarify their policies. Lisa also said that it is time to begin thinking about the midlife refits of the POLAR Class icebreakers if we are to have them in service for the next 30 years.

AICC will hold a series of formal post-cruise debriefs covering 20 topics. The debriefs will include participation by the Chief Scientist, AICC, NSF, and UCSG ice operations.

Lisa then went over some key points from the fall AICC meeting:

There is a lot of interest for work in coastal areas. This will require an increased awareness regarding Native community concerns.

Continuous underway collection of certain types of data. Multibeam and other bathymetry data is sparse in much of the Arctic region. AICC will be making recommendations regarding the need for data collection and a group will be making a proposal for collection of multibeam data. Others will follow.

A plan for enhanced support of the science data network was reviewed. AICC and RVTEC will provide input to the Coast Guard.

There are plans for a Town hall meeting at AGU in December and the next AICC meeting will be in Seattle in February 2003. Lisa ended by stating that AICC would like to hold two annual meetings per year, with the winter meeting focusing on cruise planning and the fall meeting being a general review of science concerns over the past year. Lisa’s report is included as Appendix IIIe.

Keynote Presentations

The Keynote Speakers, Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation and RADM Jay Cohen, USN, Chief of Naval Research, provided their Agencies’ perspectives on fleet renewal.

Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation

Dr. Colwell spoke first and began by thanking Dr. Bob Knox for his service to UNOLS during his two terms as UNOLS Chair. She then welcomed everyone to NSF and thanked several individuals in the room including RADM. Richard West in his new role at CORE.. Sincere thanks were also extended to Dr. Carolyn Thoroughgood for holding the reins of CORE, and to RADM Cohen for having the R/V KILO MOANA ready for the Biocomplexity cruise that was currently underway.

Dr. Colwell said that the future of the fleet is directly tied to the successes of oceanography. In this rapidly changing field the fleet must be capable to meet the changing demands of oceanographic research. New technologies must be explored and considered in new designs. She used the example of fuel cells. Dr. Colwell also said that new materials would need to be examined such as corrosion resistant paints that could be incorporated into the ship designs. The Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC) has considered these issues. Dr. Colwell then acknowledged the many contributors to the FOFC report. She also thanked the UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee and the Science Mission Requirements (SMR) Workshop participants for their input. Dr. Colwell said that Margaret Leinen, who serves as FOFC chair is an active supporter of the Fleet Renewal Plan and that the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC) endorsed the Plan last December. This defines the interagency agreement on fleet renewal. FOFC is now dealing with the implementation of the plan.

Dr. Colwell went on to say that at present, NSF has two roles. In regard to the Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV) replacement, they are going forward with it. Congress has appropriated the design money. Currently, the ship would come under NSF’s Major Research Equipment (MRE) account. The NSB has approved two MRE projects: Ocean Observatories and the International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). There are plans for the ARRV construction to enter the MRE queue in the future.

As for the Regional Class ship construction, Dr. Colwell said that they are planning to go forward with this Class of ship. Whether NSF will take the lead on this effort is under discussion for now. If the construction budget per ship is kept below $25M, they may be able fund the ship through NSF’s mid size infrastructure funding.

Dr. Colwell stated that the ships in service are not obsolete and are needed to perform research. The challenge ahead is a huge one, but it is an exciting one. We need to identify missions that cut across agency needs and disciplines. The increase in the NSF budget of 60% is the result of the entire scientific community speaking with one voice. Dr. Colwell suggested that oceanographers should use this same method to receive support.

In ending, Dr. Colwell quoted Jules Verne’s character, the nefarious Captain Nemo in the novel, 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mobilis in mobile and that we must work together by being mobile in a mobile element. She said that the story reminds her that research vessels take us everywhere and to places just as marvelous as those described by Jules Verne

RADM Jay Cohen, Chief of Naval Research

RADM Cohen began by saying what a wonderful mentor Dr. Colwell has been to him. He said that the morning briefs on the hill were terrific and very focused. Building ships is challenging, encountering and addressing problems are common practice. He thanked Dr. Colwell for her patience and for providing support for bringing KILO MOANA into service.

He then introduced Dr. Jane (Zan) Alexander, the new ONR Executive Director, who is replacing Dr. Fred Saalfeld. Dr. Alexander comes to ONR from DARPA. RADM Cohen is hopeful that NSF will be able to fund the construction of the Regional Class. The Navy would like to be able to support construction of the Ocean Class ships. To keep the process moving while funds are requested, the Navy implemented a Common Hull Study. The purpose of the study was to minimize acquisition costs and maximize technology leverage for new Navy oceanographic ships by examining the feasibility of a common (or similar) hull platform for future AGOR (UNOLS Ocean and Regional Class) and T-AGS ships. The study also included the development of rough-order-of-magnitude (ROM) designs for each ship class considered. A variety of hull forms were considered and included, monohull, SWATH, SLICE, trimaran and catamaran. [The study has since revealed that there is only minor commonality of desired capabilities between the Ocean Class and Regional Class vessels and the Navy T-AGS. Common hulls would not be a practical option for acquisition of the UNOLS and T-AGS vessels.] At the Annual meeting, RADM Cohen explained that he would like to expand the scope of the Navy study to examine the feasibility of converting the USNS LITTLEHALES (TAGS-52) to an Ocean Class vessel. The Navy currently uses the ship for hydrographic survey work. It was built by Halter Marine and launched in February 1991. RADM Cohen was interested in this possibility as it could potentially result in some cost savings and at the same time brings a ship on line in a shorter time than required by a new construction. These ships are currently fully deployed. The study would examine the extent of the required modifications and the associated cost. Appendix IV.

Dr. Colwell then closed by emphasizing that the two agencies will be working together closely on the process of Fleet Renewal.

UNOLS Presentation to Tim Pfeiffer - Bob Knox, on behalf of the UNOLS membership, presented Tim Pfeiffer with a letter and gift of appreciation for his career of excellent service to seagoing science. Tim is retiring from the Office of Naval Research at the end of this month (September). Tim’s involvement with the UNOLS community started in 1977 as Technical Coordinator for the CAPE HENLOPEN and then as Marine Superintendent for the University of Delaware and finally as program manager for research facilities in the Ocean, Atmosphere and Space Department of ONR. Tim was presented with a framed collage of ship pictures that were a part of Tim’s career.

FEDERAL AGENCY AND CORE REPORTS

National Science Foundation (NSF), Jim Yoder - Jim discussed the process that might be used for funding Regional Class construction. If the cost per ship construction is limited to $25M, mid-size infrastructure support could be considered, thereby avoiding the MRE process. The $25 million per ship would come from the Ocean Sciences Division budget. For this reason setting aside $12 - 13 million per year would represent about 5% of their budget, which is achievable. This would provide about $25 million every two years. By exceeding $25 million, the Ocean Sciences budget would be significantly impacted, which could have a negative impact on science and operation budgets. They are also working with the Navy to develop the process for concept designs which they believe should follow a process similar to the CAPE Class design efforts which involved multiple concept designs.

Dick Pittenger asked about the apparent differences in the Fleet Renewal ideas presented by RADM Cohen and those provided in the FOFC plan, in particular the TAGS 52 vessel conversion idea. Frank Herr answered that the first step would be to determine if conversion of the TAGS vessel is possible by expanding this as part of the Common Hull Study. He invited all to be a part of this study.

Mike Reeve continued the NSF report. He said that the budget appears to be increasing at a pace that would allow the mid-size infrastructure account to support Regional Class construction. New proposal guidelines are being published with new target dates (15 Oct) for Oceanographic Instrumentation and Ship Operations.

The proposal section Criterion 2 which requires information regarding the intellectual merit and benefit to the broader community must be included in the proposal and in the project summary or the proposal will be rejected. It should not be difficult, but it must be done. Proposals for ship operations should continue to include plans for training. Mike said that NSF is pleased with the initial results from the revised Post Cruise Assessment reports and that they will go a long way towards addressing the concerns about quality improvement. Mike mentioned that there was a committee of visitors that examined the facilities section at OCE. They have drafted a report and he will discuss this at the next Council meeting.

Patty Fryer asked whether or not it would be appropriate, since Criterion 2 requires it, that outreach and public education be included in the description of the proposal and to ask for funds to support it? Mike said he agrees that we need to continue working on the public education and will find a way to put this information in the proposals for Integrated Programs.

Office of Naval Research (ONR), Tim Pfeiffer - Tim introduced John Freitag. Tim will be retiring in October and John will be taking his place at ONR. Tim went over the various issues and problems that had to be overcome before delivery of the KILO MOANA. He also showed a video of the ship at sea. The ship’s propulsion arrangement provides for work in an undisturbed wake. Tim said that this is a substantially different kind of ship and that there are things we need to learn in regard to operations.

2003 ship time is up significantly and is in a large part due to the change in the way ship time is being supported within ONR. It has been fine tuned over the years and this year the Research Facilities Program has begun to support ship time at 100%. In the past, the cost of ship time was shared according to a defined ration between the Research Facilities section and the Science Program offices.

Navy Research Laboratory (NRL), Joan Gardner- Joan reported that there were 84 NRL ship days used and that they were mostly on the Cape Class vessels. In 2003 there are about 48 NRL ship days planned amounting to about $400K. These days represent those that include NRL PIs and NRL ship time exclusively. Some NRL PI cruises are funded by ONR and so those were not included in the totals.

Oceanographer of the Navy (OON), Rick Spinrad - Dr. Spinrad reported that the OON has eight survey vessels that are fully utilized. There is still a large backlog of work requiring ship time. The two coastal T-AGS vessels are fully utilized in homeland security duties at the moment. The need for these vessels was justified about 7 or 8 years ago. At that time it was recommended that the Navy maintain a fleet of survey vessels of about eight vessels. In the current climate of examining costs for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the Navy must look at various options for reducing their costs. The conversion of the T-AGS 51 and 52 vessels to research vessels is one possible option for cost savings and therefore it makes sense to examine whether or not it is feasible and what it would cost to convert them. There may also be other uses that the Navy would want to put these vessels to. We need to carry out the feasibility study to see if it is possible and what the cost would be so that a decision can be made quickly as to whether to proceed or not with the option of converting the T-AGS 51 and 52 vessels to Ocean Class research vessels. We should still continue with the FOFC fleet planning and implementation process.

U.S. Coast Guard, Joe Bodenstedt - Joe reported that if the Department of Homeland Security is created the Coast Guard will move intact and Ice Operations will continue as before. There are plans to send one icebreaker to the Antarctic and hopefully, that will be sufficient. The Reliability Improvement Project will continue for another four or five years on the POLAR Class vessels. They have also created a Service Life Extension Board for the POLARS. AICC and ARVOC will provide input to the Coast Guard on scientific requirement for either upgrade or replacement for the POLARS.

Department of State, Liz Tirpak - Liz reported on current clearance issues and how the Law of the Sea (LOS) impacts clearances. Her slides are included as Appendix V. She discussed the security issues that State Department is working on with UNOLS and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Liz is requesting support for funds to convert to a real database application for foreign clearance requests. Bob Knox asked about the accession to the Law of the Sea Treaty. The U.S. needs to ratify the LOS so that we can have a voice in decisions concerning the clearance process.

Roberta Barnes at the State Department will work as a backup to Liz in her office.

Liz reviewed the clearance trends for the past 5 years. In 2002 there are 212 clearance requests. This is down from previous years. Liz continued by reviewing the 2002/2001 clearance denials. The full list is contained in Appendix V. Russian denials appear to be increasing as they have not been responding to requests. Mexico has also been a problem, but this may be a result of late requests. Liz also reviewed the post September 11 clearance procedures. Request lead time requirements must be met. Foreign collaborations must be well established. There must be a ship operator’s endorsement and applications should be submitted as an electronic file.

Liz reviewed maritime safety reports and DOS travel warnings. Scientists and operators should check these often.

Liz reviewed her goals for 2003:

Update online country files.

Improve delivery of clearance status via online progress reports.

Develop online application form, and coordinate database development with UNOLS, NSF and the Oceanic website project to avoid duplication of data reports for both scientists and operators.

Maintain ISOM contacts.

Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), Tom Jones - Tom presented information about CORE’s effort to promote the FOFC report and the UNOLS recommendations to Congress. They have started this effort by hosting a CORE/UNOLS breakfast with Congressional staffers. There is strong support in Congress for doubling the NSF budget and CORE is working to encourage this effort. CORE is supportive of the Fleet Renewal plan and its implementation; the funding of Regional Class ships and the EWING replacement within NSF along with the ARRV, and the funding of the Ocean Class ships through ONR. Core hosted the staff breakfast to raise the level of interest in these activities. CORE encourages their members to support the FOFC plan and its implementation. CORE would like to take Congressional representatives out on UNOLS research vessels so that they experience the capabilities of these ships firsthand. The FOFC report is the CORE position on fleet renewal. This position will have to compete with other infrastructure requirements, but we need to ask and keep asking.

FLEET Renewal Activities:

Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) Report - Larry Atkinson - Larry displayed the FOFC figure 17 and showed the steps underway to accomplish it. Next he showed the ship utilization curve since 1991. The general trend shows a gradual increase in ship time demand. Larry presented the FIC roadmap for fleet renewal and where we stand in the process. The SMRs will be needed in early 2003 in order to proceed with calls for concept design proposals and stay on schedule. Larry emphasized the need for community input throughout the process. He reviewed the content of the SMRs and the work of the SMR Workshops. They will be published for community input after adding an introduction and summary table. He also discussed issues that need to be resolved in further development of the SMRs. Larry provided a written report as well as viewgraphs, which are contained in Appendix IIIc part 1 and Appendix IIIc part 2, respectively.

Larry talked about the need to assess the performance of the KILO MOANA. The FIC will use a debrief process where FIC members will contact the Chief Scientists and go through a series of questions to assess the capabilities of the KILO MOANA as a SWATH research vessel. FIC recommended that NSF/ONR support proposed work to evaluate ship motions of KILO MOANA and monuhulls in a quantitative way.

FIC has a call for nominations to fill two membership vacancies

Garry Brass commented that in the most recent NAVSEA design and construction effort, community involvement came too late. He strongly recommends that UNOLS be entrained in the design process right from the start. This needs to happen before the ship construction contracting phase.

Jim Snyder from NAVSEA is in the office responsible for the acquisition of AGORs including KILO MOANA. He indicated that with the KILO MOANA process the design was a two-phase event with early participation by the University of Hawaii during the construction design. They ended up with essentially zero change orders. Jim said that the Common Hull Study is continuing and that there is clearly a divergence between the survey vessels and the research vessel requirements. The study will continue looking at Ocean Class hull options and will examine the feasibility of converting the TAGS 51 to a research vessel.

Terry Whitledge commented that a ship acquisition process should not be streamlined at the expense of community involvement.

Presentation to Bob Knox - Mike Prince, UNOLS Executive Secretary, presented Bob Knox, outgoing UNOLS Chair, with a plaque in acknowledgement of his years of service to UNOLS. A boatswain’s whistle was mounted on the plaque. Those who have participated in Council meetings have experienced Bob’s distinctive whistling, “call to order.” Bob has shown tremendous dedication to improving the Academic Fleet and has represented the UNOLS community well throughout his four years as Chair.

Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV) - Terry Whitledge reported on the ARRV design process and the changes recently made to the design. Recent changes include:

Removed helicopter landing capability

Rearranged boats

Relocated mess / galley

Reduced stateroom size

Segregated crew / scientist staterooms

They will be addressing the addition of a small moon pool and the arrangement for long coring. A noise level investigation for the design is also planned. Terry’s viewgraphs are contained in Appendix VI and include deck arrangements.

CAPE HENLOPEN Replacement Vessel (CHRV) report by Matt Hawkins. Matt started by pointing out that the CHRV fits in the FOFC plan as a super local vessel. It is just over the minimum length for a Regional vessel but does not have the range, berthing, etc called for in a Regional vessel. Delivery is planned for late 2005. They have selected DYNACON to design and supply a scientific load handling system. A contractor to conduct underwater noise investigations is to start work soon. A model-testing firm has been selected (Vienna Model Basin). Model testing and noise evaluations were funded by ONR and will be shared with UNOLS. University of Delaware built a full size mockup of the vessel lab spaces to evaluate arrangements. This exercise was very useful. The vessel will be under 500 gross tons international and 300 tons GRT. However, the vessel will be built to the subchapter U standards as much as possible. Matt’s viewgraphs are contained in Appendix VII.

Facilities beyond Ships: Curt Collins and Bob Bluth briefly covered the ballot issues related to designating a national oceanographic aircraft facility. Appendix VIII.

Bob Bluth of the Naval Post Graduate School (NPS) provided an overview of the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) facility at (NPS). A proposal is before the membership to designate CIRPAS as a the first national oceanographic aircraft facility under Appendix II of the UNOLS Charter. Information about the CIRPAS facility is contained on their website at: <http://web.nps.navy.mil/~cirpas/>. They have supported projects for NSF, NOAA, NASA, Navy, Energy and other institutions.

Curt and Bob covered the ballot issues briefly for the CIRPAS designation and establishment of a Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR). The proposed Terms of Reference and operating procedures were reviewed. The membership will vote on these ballot issues later in the meeting.

Research Vessel Security Report - Dan Schwartz discussed the formation and mission of the RVOC security committee. Dan mentioned the sharing of training resources and the plan by University of Washington and Scripps Institution of Oceanography to share in a training contract prior to next year’s missions to Vietnam. Dan also reviewed the resources linked on the UNOLS security information page. He reviewed a checklist of security related steps to be taken by operators developed by Paul Ljunggren. Dan’s full written report is contained in Appendix IX.

Quality of Service Initiative - Mike Prince, UNOLS Office reported on the revised Post Cruise Assessment Form. The new form is now accessible on the Web at http://www.gso.uri.edu/unols/pcarform.htm You can now rank different aspects of the cruise from Excellent to Poor or non-applicable. Mike said that there is still some controversy over the word ,Excellent, which for some is a word they would use to express their normal expectations for a cruise. However, Mike said that the most important part of this form will be the comment sections, where people can write in their own words how well the support of science is on the ship. Mike reviewed the number of reports received since July. He said that the new form is generating many reports with useful feedback in the comments sections. The ratings seem to promote better descriptions to support the rating given in many cases. At the same time, some people just use the ratings and do not write in any comments. Mike said that it is too early to evaluate the benefit or meaning of the ratings. He also said an attempt would be made to address the issue of input by technicians at the next RVTEC meeting.

Mike closed by going over a list of what the next steps would be:

Work with several institutions to make the form available onboard ship without being connected to the Internet.

Phase out the old form and set up automatic reminders to improve the rate of return.

Create an online method for drafting responses.

Create a meaningful summary report for operators, Council and the agencies from the PCAR.

Use feedback to make improvements and make the report system part of an overall quality improvement program.

Set up a system-wide quality monitoring for Council, operators and agencies.

There was some discussion of the benefit of the new form and the reports being received. Mike’s report is included as Appendix X.

Membership Votes:

Ballots were distributed to member representatives, marked and tallied with the following results:

Both Ballot measures for National Oceanographic Aircraft Facility approved. A copy of the ballot is attached as Appendix VIII

The Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) was designated as a National Oceanographic Aircraft Facility in accordance with Annex II of the UNOLS Charter.

The establishment of a Scientific Committee for Oceanographic Aircraft Research (SCOAR) under Annex II of the UNOLS Charter was approved along with the SCOAR Terms of Reference and Operating Procedures dated September 27, 2002.

The membership approved a waiver to allow Curt Collins to complete his term on the UNOLS Council even though NPS will now be considered an operator institution under the UNOLS Charter.

Elections for the following UNOLS Council positions were held with the following results:

UNOLS CHAIR (2 year term) - Dr. Tim Cowles, Oregon State University

UNOLS Chair-Elect (2 year term) - Dr. Peter Wiebe, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Operator Representative (3 year term) - Dr. Peter Ortner, University of Miami

UNOLS Council Member, (3-year term) - Dr. Denis Wiesenburg, University of Southern Mississippi.

Issues Before UNOLS

Bob Knox briefly summarized various issues of interest to UNOLS Members that have arisen during the past year.

ISM Large UNOLS Vessel Compliance - All of the large UNOLS vessels met the requirements for ISM compliance prior to July 2002. Science users should be aware to the new ISM requirements. We will continue to assess any impact on science operations.

Ocean Commission Hearings - Various Council members have testified and/or provided comment to the Ocean Commission over the past year. The Commission has been well informed about the need for fleet renewal.

Ocean Observatories and their Facility Needs - Larry Atkinson in his role at the Ocean.US office will keep UNOLS informed of developments.

Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) Membership - UNOLS previously voted to become a member of the SOCP. Steve Rabalais attended his first meeting on behalf of UNOLS. With membership, UNOLS receives various training videos. The videos are available for loan to the UNOLS membership through the UNOLS Office.

NOAA Fisheries Research Vessel (FRV) Construction - The first FRV is under construction at the yard formally owned by Halter Marine (the yard was sold while the ship was under construction). The second FRV is under consideration for funding.

UNOLS Standard Scientific Van Design - Matt Hawkins provided the status of the UNOLS van project. His viewgraphs are contained in Appendix XI. Eight vans were purchased in 2001 and five additional vans have been funded for 2002. The standard specifications and drawings are being tweaked. Input from the science community has been received on pooled vans. A van manual is being drafted and is 90% complete. It is available on the UNOLS website and also in hard copy. A searchable van database is under construction for use by the science community, ship operators, and funding agencies. Matt provided an example of what the web-based van database will look like. An RVOC Van subcommittee is being formed that includes operators and technicians from WHOI, SIO, UD, UW, UH, and MLML. Some of the issues that need to be addressed include:

Pooled vans vs. ship-owned vans or science-owned vans.

Rental Rates

Rental agreements

UNOLS Standard Wires - new specifications and safe working loads safe working loads - The UNOLS Office with assistance from others is working on proposal for next generation CTD wire. It will also address the issue of establishing safe working loads.

Fleet Additions/Reductions - SEA DIVER and LAURENTIAN are no longer operating in the UNOLS Fleet. SAVANNAH began operations in Fall 2001. KILO MOANA has also just recently entered service in the UNOLS Fleet.

UNOLS Booth at the Fall AGU Meeting - UNOLS will have a booth at the fall AGU meeting focused on fleet renewal plans and expeditionary planning for the HEALY.

2001/2002 UNOLS Accomplishments - Mike Prince listed the UNOLS accomplishments over the past year. His presentation is attached as Appendix XII. The accomplishments include progress in the areas of access and scheduling, continuous quality improvement, and planning for future facilities.

2002/2003 UNOLS Goals and Priorities - Mike Prince then presented the goals for the coming year. Goals are in the areas of:

Access, Scheduling & Utilization (Ongoing Responsibilities)

Continuous Quality Improvement (Improvements to Existing Facilities and Systems)

Planning for Future Facilities (New Opportunities and Facilities)

The 2002/2003 goals are included in Appendix XIII along with strategies for implementing these goals.

UNOLS Dues Accounting - Lastly, Mike Prince reviewed the balance of the UNOLS dues account. He encouraged all to continue their support of UNOLS.

Other Business

UNOLS Appointments to Committees: Bob Knox announced new appointments made this year to the UNOLS standing committees:

AICC: Hedy Edmonds (UT)

DESSC: Hedy Edmonds (UT) and Debbie Kelley (UW)

FIC: Niall Slowey (TAMU)

2003 UNOLS Calendar - The UNOLS 2003 Calendar will be posted on the UNOLS website: <http://www.unols.org/meetings/2003/index.html>.

The meeting was adjourned.