FIC Meeting Report

 

UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee

National Science Foundation – Room 770
Arlington, VA

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

 

To download a pdf version of these minutes, click <200309ficmi.pdf>

 

Executive summary:  The UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) met at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Room 770, Arlington, VA on Wednesday, September 17, 2003.  Larry Atkinson, FIC Chair, presided over the meeting.  Implementation of Fleet renewal was a major focus discussion.  Ship utilization trends and projections were reviewed.  The FOFC Long Range Fleet Plan was discussed and the need to update the plan was recognized.  Increasing ship demand, future observatory facility needs, and changing ship retirement dates need to be considered in the update.

 

JJMA presented the recommendations of their Phase II Regional Class Conceptual Development study.  The study findings indicate that a monohull can be constructed that would meet the maximum desired SMRs and stay within budget ($25M to $28M).  Considerable discussion focused on the ship acquisition strategies.  FIC stressed the need for community review and feedback in any vessel design process.  They recommend the formation of a Regional Ship Users Advisory Committee  that would include science users, Naval architects, ship operators, and marine technicians.

 

KILO MOANA debrief interview responses were reviewed and FIC decided to continue the interviews into 2004.  They will inform the University of Hawaii of the problems that have been identified so that corrective measures can be considered.  FIC will continue to recommend that a ship motion analysis of KILO MOANA be supported.

 

Reports on ship design and mid-life refits were presented at the meeting.  FIC will continue to review and provide feedback on design and construction efforts including replacement of CAPE HENLOPEN, the Alaska Region Regional Vessel, and the EWING replacement.  FIC endorses LDEO’s option for replacement of EWING with a commercially available modern, seismic vessel.

 

The close of the FIC meeting marked the end of Larry Atkinson’s term as FIC Chair.  FIC thanked Larry for his dedicated leadership through the past years.  Dave Hebert will assume the position as new FIC Chair.

 

FIC Recommendations and Endorsements:

 

FOFC Long Range Fleet Plan - FIC recommends an update to the FOFC plan so that consideration of increasing ship demand, future observatory facility needs, and changing ship retirement dates are included. 

 

Regional Class:

-         FIC endorses the Integrated Product Team (IPT) plan (2-teams) as a reasonable acquisition approach

-         FIC recommends the formation of a Regional Ship Users Advisory Committee (include science users, Naval architects, ship operators, and marine technicians - both intermediate and regional vessel users). 

-         FIC recommends community review and feedback opportunities to both of IPT designs prior to selection (Industries should be required to define how the community will be involved in the design review process).

 

KILO MOANA –FIC will again recommend that a ship motion analysis of KILO MOANA be supported.

 

EWING Replacement Option - FIC endorses LDEO’s option for replacement of EWING with a commercially available modern, seismic vessel.

 

FIC recommends that the UNOLS Post Cruise Assessment Subcommittee provide feedback to FIC in respect to shipboard capabilities and equipment improvements.

 

 

FIC Action items:

Task/Action Item

Assigned

Regional Class – Send letter to NSF recommending:

·         The formation of a Regional Ship Users Advisory Committee (RSUAC) - (include science users, Naval architects, ship operators, and marine technicians - both intermediate and regional vessel users).

·         That community feedback opportunities need to be clearly defined in the acquisition plan

·         That the UNOLS rep on the IPT Oversight committee also be a member of the RSUAC

Dave Hebert with FIC input - complete

Ocean Class – FIC should be engaged and provide feedback to the Navy/JJMA Phase II Ocean Class Concept Development task.

FIC

Encourage the Agencies to update the FOFC plan.

David Hebert

Update the FIC website and draft a FIC version of Figure 17 of the FOFC plan.

Annette and Dave

KILO MOANA - Continue FIC Debrief Interviews

FIC

Send the University of Hawaii a list of items that need to be addressed:  CTD operation problems, Noise, Over-the-side handling issues

Dave Hebert with FIC input

Recommend that a ship motion analysis of KILO MOANA be supported – send message to John Freitag

Dave Hebert – complete

Review KILO MOANA debrief interviews in respect to the monohull versus SWATH hull characteristics

FIC

Continue to review and provide feedback on design and construction efforts:

–       CAPE HENLOPEN replacement vessel

–       Alaska Region Regional Vessel

FIC

Send letter of endorsement in support of the EWING Replacement plan.  The letter should state that FIC is ready to work with LDEO to ensure that the conversion will meet the general needs of the oceanographic community as best as possible without compromising the seismic aspects. 

Dave with input from FIC – complete

EWING Replacement - Review and provide feedback to draft Global, Seismic SMRs

FIC

Recommend that the UNOLS Post Cruise Assessment Subcommittee provide feedback to FIC in respect to shipboard capabilities and equipment improvement needs.

Dave Hebert

Ocean Observatories - Review UNOLS working group recommendations.

FIC

 

Appendices List

 

I.                    Meeting Agenda

II.                 Participant List

III.               UNOLS Utilization Trends and Projections

IV.              NSF Report

V.                 JJMA Regional Class Concept Development Task Review (1.7 MB)

VI.              UNOLS Ocean Observatory Working Group Report

VII.            EWING Refit/Replacement Report (7.1 MB)

VIII.         Alaska Region Research Vessel Status Report – to download the PowerPoint slides along with video clips go to <http://www.unols.org/committees/fic/arrv/arrv.html>

IX.              CAPE HENLOPEN Replacement Vessel – Status Report

X.                 PELICAN Mid-Life Refit Report

XI.              KILO MOANA Debrief Summary

XII.            FIC Draft Report to Council – 9/18/03

 

A message from outgoing FIC Chair Larry Atkinson:

 

This meeting marks the change in FIC chairs. It has been an exciting time. In the past few years the FOFC has created a rational ship replacement plan (and now needs revision), SMRs have been developed, demand for research ship use of large vessels is exceeding supply, plans for many new ocean activities related to observatories are reaching fruition, and funding for new ships is as yet uncertain. We have had many successes and it is clear that there are many challenges ahead of you.

 

FIC activities generally fall into the following categories:

•         Interpret trends in ship use and present to community

•         Publicly advocate the ship replacement plan

•         Develop and update Science Mission Requirements

•         Represent the user community during ship design.

 

In the coming years these activities will remain but new ones will evolve. In the next five years ships will be designed and construction will begin. How this will happen is unknown but it will assuredly have many surprises and present many challenges for those of us who offer our time to the academic research fleet.

 

I wish you well in the coming years.

 

Welcome and Introduction – The UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee met at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Room 770, Arlington, VA on Wednesday, September 17, 2003. Larry Atkinson, FIC Chair, opened the FIC meeting at 0830. Agenda items were followed in the order as reported in this report.  Meeting participants introduced themselves.  The agenda and meeting participants are included as Appendix I and Appendix II.

 

Accept Minutes - A motion was made and approved to accept the minutes from the January 28-29, 2003 FIC Meeting.

 

Fleet Renewal: 

 

Larry introduced the Fleet Renewal discussion.  He explained that the goal of this part of the meeting is to assess the status of the renewal process, new information that is available, and what actions should be taken.

 

The FOFC Plan – Larry briefly reviewed the FOFC Long-Range Plan and commented that the need for an update is approaching.  He reviewed Figure 17 and pointed out that in the next decade many ships will be going off line and need replacement.

 

Ship Utilization Trends and Projections– Annette DeSilva reviewed a series of charts showing ship use trends.  Her slides are included as Appendix III.

 

The first chart showed fleet utilization and projected use for 1993 to 2005.  Use has steadily increased over these years.  In 2003 there were a number of programs that needed to be deferred to 2004 for a total of 373 days.  The reasons for deferring ship time to 2004 included:

 

In 2004, deferred programs will require 289 days to be moved to 2005.  The reasons for deferring ship time to 2005 include:

Additionally, there were seven programs that requested large vessels, but were scheduled on UNOLS intermediate vessels (204 days).  There is one other program (78 days) that has not been scheduled yet on a UNOLS vessel.

 

Next, Annette showed utilization broken down by class.  The Global/Large ship utilization has been very high.  The Intermediate/Ocean Class utilization has been lower than full utilization over the past years.  Regional and Local ship utilization trends show increasing demand.

 

There was discussion on the trends and utilization.  The question was asked how would the increasing ship time be supported.  If congress adds money to NSF’s budget the ship time can be supported.  However, it is more likely that NSF would not get an increased budget, in which case, support for ship time may need to come out for science budgets.

 

Agency Reports

 

National Science Foundation (NSF) - Jim Yoder provided the NSF report.  His viewgraphs are included as Appendix IV.  Jim began by reporting that the Board has approved a resolution for including a funding request for the ARRV as part of the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account in a FY2005 or future budget request by the National Science Foundation." 

He thanked Mike Reeve, Holly and Dolly for all the work that went into preparing the ARRV proposal for the Board.  Margaret Leinen was very supportive.  Hopefully it will be included in the FY2005 budget.

 

OCE is discussing design and acquisition strategies for three to four Regional Class ships based on the UNOLS SMRs and JJMA report.  One strategy under discussion is the Integrated Product Team (IPT) approach.  This could be implemented with:

•         An MOU between NSF and another federal entity with shipbuilding expertise;

•         Formation of a government team (incl. UNOLS rep.);

•         Issue an RFP for Phase I design/build;

•         Selection of two competitors;

•         Evaluate competing designs and then down-select to one and execute a firm fixed price contract for Phase II; 

•         Add the lead ship operator to the IPT;

•         Complete the detail design and then build. 

•         Following lead ship construction, execute option for more ships; add second ship operator to team for second ship build, and so on.

•         NSF would conduct separate competition for 3-4 operators with selection in time to join Phase II process.

 

Jim explained that the UNOLS representative to the IPT government team would be a full time obligation.  Although, the timeline for this process is behind the timeline called out by the FOFC report for the first ship, the overall project would catch-up with the FOFC plan by the time of the third ship construction.

 

Jim reviewed the status of the EWING Midlife refit plan.  A EWING Midlife Refit workshop was held in October 2002 and the community recommended that “Only a replacement vessel can provide all the desired capabilities for improved 2-D MCS, an effective 3-D MCS and substantially improved general-purpose capabilities.”  OCE is discussing replacement vessel options with Lamont as an alternative to an EWING refit.  For the replacement vessel option, total cost, cost in relation to refit, and a financing plan are key considerations.

 

Lastly Jim discussed, ALVIN replacement plans.  The agencies are supporting an NRC committee study to examine future facility needs in deep submergence science.  Their report is expected in October.  OCE will carefully consider the report recommendations and discuss them internally before making a recommendation.  OCE has not determined the process for replacing ALVIN, should that option be chosen.  The process will likely require NSF and NSB approval.  Funds are available beginning in FY04 should NSF decide to support ALVIN replacement.  There are issues of how other agencies would contribute to the funding support.  The cost to purchase a new ALVIN is estimated at approximately $20M.

 

Office of Naval Research (ONR) – Captain Houtman provided the report for ONR.  The agency is preparing their POM for FY06.  Admiral Cohen continues to be committed to Fleet renewal and continues to discuss how funding can be obtained.  ONR continues to be committed to the Ocean Class design effort.  They plan to proceed with a Phase II effort with JJMA.  The Phase II study will be very similar to the study performed for the Regional Class vessels.  The Statement of Work for the study is being drafted and ONR will fund the effort.  They are very interested in having maximum participation by FIC. 

 

FIC Action – Interface with JJMA and provide feedback to the Ocean Class Phase II effort.

Captain Houtman commented that the lease versus buy options for new ships has not been totally resolved and they are still looking at this.

 

Tim Cowles asked how far the Ocean Class Phase II effort would extend into the design process.  Captain Houtman replied that they would like the study to identify the optimum, hull form for the Ocean Class.  He re-emphasized that UNOLS is welcome to contribute to the Phase II effort.

 

Annette asked if the Navy has received any input from Congress regarding their report on Academic Fleet renewal.  They have not.

 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Beth White provided the agency report for NOAA.  There have been many ship conversions and replacements in the NOAA fleet.  A Navy yard torpedo test craft was converted to replace the FARRELL. The ship has been renamed the NANCY FOSTER and supports coastal research along the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts.  The NOAA vessel, FAIRWEATHER, has been in use as a hotel ship in Seattle, but is now undergoing a conversion to support survey work off Alaska.  Funds have been received for conversion of a Navy T-AGOS vessel.  Work will begin on its conversion later this month (September 2003).  Although no operating funds are currently identified, plans call for the ship to work off Hawaii in coral reef studies and support of the program “Embracing the Seas.”  Another T-AGOS vessel was transferred from the Navy to replace the McARTHUR.  The ship has been renamed the McARTHUR II and will operate from Seattle, WA as in oceanographic research and assessments.  The Navy’s TAGS vessel, LITTLEHALES, was transferred to NOAA to serve as a hydrographic survey vessel.  It has been renamed the THOMAS JEFFERSON and is home-ported in Norfolk, VA.  The conversion cost on average is $6M per ship.

 

In new construction, the NOAA Fisheries Research Vessel (FRV), OSCAR DIASON, will come on line in early 2005 and will operate off Alaska.  The ship will be launched in October 2003.  The second new FRV is scheduled to be operational in 2006 and will replace the ALBATROSS in New England.  Time will be needed for calibration.  A contest for school children will be held to name the vessel.

 

Lastly Beth reported that a coastal SWATH vessel is planned for the Northeast.  Design bids for the vessel should be announced soon.

 

Tim Cowles asked if NOAA’s internal report on fleet replacement will it be distributed outside of NOAA.  Beth indicated that it probably would be released.  The report has been sent to the Department of Commerce for review.  The report will probably need to consider additional items including the latest budget information.

 

Tim also asked about the status of the third FRV.  John Hotelling replied that FRV3 is an option in the budget mark up.  The contract with Halter Shipyard included construction of four FRVs (as options).  Currently, the plans for construction of the third vessel are on hold while budget decisions are being made.  The option for the third ship expires in January 2004, but the fourth option extends into 2005.  Terry Whitledge asked if there is a process to update the scientific outfitting for the future FRVs so that it is not outdated by the time the vessels are built.  John replied that acquisition of the FRV computer systems is not part of the shipyard contract and will be handled by NOAA.  This should avoid problems associated with out-dated equipment.  NOAA is also doing a full-scale science mock-up for each FRV to identify any regional needs.  The ships for each region will not be carbon copies of each other.

 

FOFC Activities - Beth continued with a report on FOFC activities.  FOFC is considering an update of the FOFC plan that would address an integrated agency fleet plan, as well as, buy versus lease options for new construction.  Whenever the agencies plan for new facilities, they must consider the most economic means for acquiring the facilities and lease versus purchase options must be studied.  A message was sent to the FOFC representatives regarding such a study and the replies were supportive of hiring a service to look at this area.  Tim Cowles pointed out that UNOLS sent a note to FOFC stating that other factors need to be considered when evaluating leasing options.

 

At the last FOFC meeting the concept of an Integrated Fleet Plan was discussed.  Some agencies indicated that their facilities could not be effectively integrated into such a plan.  Others indicated that some level of integration might be appropriate.  There is a need to demonstrate to Congress that the agencies are working together and are cognitive of each other’s needs.  The integrated plan effort might be overtaken by the Senate mark directing the agencies to develop FOFC implementation plan.  If indeed the agencies were directed to develop the implementation plan, NSF would be tasked to write the report with input from the other agencies.

 

Presently there is no timeline for updating the FOFC plan and the report’s Figure 17.  This issue will be addressed at the next FOFC meeting.

 

JJMA Regional Class Concept Development Task Review - Dan Rolland of JJMA provided a review of their Phase II Regional Class Concept Development effort.  His viewgraphs are included as Appendix V.

 

Dan presented an overview of the task:

1)   Acquisition Process - Analyze possible acquisition approaches

2)   Refinement of Concept Design – What can be built for $25M and how will it meet the SMRs?

3)   Tonnage Analysis - Analyze tonnage of concept designs and regulatory impacts

4)   Technology Investigation - Investigate innovative technologies to reduce manning, life cycle costs.

5)   Ship Specification Development - Develop specification and other design documentation to support the next phase.

 

Two concept designs were developed by JJMA and analyzed:

·         Minimum (threshold) ship that meets the minimum SMRs

·         Desired (objective) ship that meets the desired SMRs

 

Dan presented a table showing the concept variant designs versus the Regional Class SMRs.  The “desired” SMR ship design met all desired SMRs.  The “minimum” ship variant can meet the minimum SMR value with the exception of storage space. 

 

Dan reviewed the seakeeping table of operability. It is predicted that a monohull that meets the desired SMR ship design could meet the seakeeping criteria spectrum for both short and long crested seas. 

 

Dan showed a chart of percent time operability versus wave height for long and short crested seas.  The “desired” monohull and SWATH variants exceed operability criteria for short crested waves.  The SWATH also exceeds operability for long-crested waves in SS6 (the monohull does not).