DRAFT
UNOLS COUNCIL MEETING
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
March 11-12, 2009
The UNOLS Council met at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories on March 11-12, 2009. The first day of the meeting included a joint session with the Fleet Improvement Committee and focused on Fleet utilization and renewal efforts. Agency representatives reported on budget projections and facility acquisition efforts. UNOLS goals and priorities were discussed. The Council endorsed the updated Research Vessel Safety Standards and the 2009 Fleet Improvement Plan. Other meeting discussion topics and presentations included crew and marine technician retention and hiring issues, Post Cruise Assessment Reports, and committee activities.
· Science Mission Requirements (SMRs) Update – Establish values and priorities for SMRs starting with the Ocean Class SMR document. (Mike Prince is taking the lead)
·
Establishing Facility
Renewal and Upgrade Priorities – Categorize facility renewal/upgrades into
categories of near term, intermediate term, and long term priority OR high,
medium, low priority. Form an ad-hoc
committee. – Vernon Asper
·
UNOLS 2009 Goal - Investigate the
feasibility of a more flexible UNOLS to meet the needs of additional users. - Form an ad hoc subcommittee to
investigate the problem and make recommendations. - Vernon Asper
·
Post Cruise Assessment
Reports – Continue
review of PCARs and review PCA form to determine if revisions should be
made. (PCAR Committee)
· UNOLS Annual Meeting Plans- Set meeting date and invite Keynote Speaker (UNOLS Office)
·
2009
Council Slate – Solicit nominations for the 2009 slate and prepare draft
slate. (Nominating Committee)
·
Crew and Marine
Technician Recruitment and Retention – Draft recommendations/proposal and send Council
for endorsement. Upon endorsement, send
to Agency representatives. (RVOC/RVTEC
Chairs and Vice-Chairs)
·
Revival of SCOAR – Organize phone meeting of the
SCOAR members. (Dan Schwartz and UMOLS Office)
Appointments
and Motions:
·
Maureen Conte and Al Hine were appointed to second terms on FIC.
·
Dan Schwartz was
appointed Chair of the SCOAR. Steve Ramp
was appointed as a member. The proposed
revised term end dates for the other members of SCOAR were accepted.
·
The Council
voted to endorse the updated Research Vessel Safety Standards.
·
The Council
voted to endorse the Fleet Improvement Plan with the addition of a
recommendation that the future fleet should consider green technologies in
their designs and operations.
Appendices
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I |
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II |
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III |
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IV |
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V |
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VI |
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VII |
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VIII |
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IX |
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X |
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XI |
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XII |
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XIII |
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XIV |
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XV |
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XVI |
Wednesday, March 11th: Moss Landing Marine Laboratories – Seminar
Room: Joint
session of the Fleet Improvement Committee and Council
Call the Meeting: The
UNOLS Council met on March 11-12, 2009 at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
(MLML) in Moss Landing, CA. Vernon
Asper, UNOLS Chair, called the meeting to order at 0830 and provided an
opportunity for introductions. The
meeting agenda was followed in the order recorded in these minutes. The meeting agenda is included as Appendix
I and the meeting participant list is Appendix II.
Kenneth Coale welcomed
UNOLS meeting participants to MLML. The R/V
Point Sur is expected to return to
Moss Landing later in the day after a long ship yard period.
A motion was made and
passed to accept the minutes of the October 2008 Council Meeting <http://www.unols.org/meetings/2008/200810cnc/200810cncmi.html>
with corrections. (Marcia McNutt/Nancy Rabalais)
UNOLS 2009 Fleet schedules, estimated
operation costs, and 2010 ship scheduling –
Mike Prince and Stan Winslow provided
the ship scheduling report. Their slides
are included as Appendix III. Statistics from the 2009 ship schedules were presented. The utilization by source for each ship was
shown. Although the Council had
recommended that Oceanus layup, days
that could not be accommodated on Endeavor
and Seward Johnson were scheduled on Oceanus.
The 2009 cost statistics are included in the slides. The cost figures are still a bit up in the
air. A chart with the 2003 to 2009 UNOLS
Fleet operating days and costs reveals a slight increase in total operating days.
Next, the ship time requests for 2010 were presented. NOAA is determining what work can be supported
within their budget and what work will be scheduled on their ships. There is still quite a bit of pending
requests. There are many requests for work
in the Pacific. The requests for R/V Langseth
are all over the globe.
Stan concluded by stating that in the nine years that Mike has been the
UNOLS Executive Secretary, he has taken
the ship time request system a long way.
Mike credited Aaron Payne with making the STRS system functional.
Agency Reports – Budgets and renewal efforts:
National
Science Foundation Report – Bob Houtman provided the report for NSF. His slides are included as Appendix IV. The topics he covered included budget projections,
Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV) construction status, the Replacement Human
Occupied Vehicle (RHOV), the Hybrid ROV, the Regional Class Research Vessel
(RCRV), and the Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI)
Budget Projections - NSF is still on a Continuing
Resolution and operating on 90% of the FY08 budget level. Under the continuing resolution, there are no
new program starts. The NSF FY10 budget
inputs have been provided to OMB. The
American Recovery Act (ARRA) lists NSF as receiving $3B. Of this, $2B is for research and related
activities AND $200M is for Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI). Every ARRA project must have the money
clearly identified as a discreet project with clear start and end points. Jobs, economics must be included. NSF ARRA spending plan has been submitted to
OMB. Capital Hill approval is required. The ARRA can be used to support MREFC projects
that are “shovel ready.” Possible
candidates are the ARRV and OOI. The
ARRA awards must be out by September 2009.
The awards should be two to five years.
NSF is trying to blend the end dates so that everything doesn’t end at
the same time.
ARRV Construction Status – The Final Design Review
complete. The panel recommendations that
a 12-ft lengthening with an anti-roll tank be explored as a contract
option. Model testing is in progress. The ARRV package is ready for NSB approval.
RHOV – The sphere girth welding is delayed one month
to April 09, but there is no projected impact on the cost/final schedule. Bob revised the history of the program. Because of high estimated cost for the
project, in February 2008, NSF and the RHOV Oversight Committee (RHOC)
requested an alternative phased approach to the project (ALVIN Upgrade). In Phase I the new sphere would be integrated
with the 4500M vehicle (Alvin). In Phase
II, all components would be upgraded to 6500M.
Lockheed-Martin’s revised cost estimate for the project in Jun 2008 was ~$50M;
which greatly exceeded the budget. The WHOI/LM
contract was allowed to expire in August 2008.
The project continued under WHOI management and
would follow the Large Facilities Guidelines.
Under the ALVIN Upgrade planned schedule, PDR would be in Jul 09, FDR
would follow in ~Dec 09, and integration would begin in July 2010. In the summer 2011, initial sea trials would
begin. The Phase I cost estimate is
about $35M without contingency.
Hybrid ROV – The RHOV project is fully funded. Shallow sea trials were completed in 2008. Components are being upgraded for the 11KM
capability. The deep sea trial is scheduled
for mid 2009.
Regional Class Research Vessel – The contracts are
being closed out with NAVSEA and the MOU is being terminated. NSF will move the program forward. Both designs are complete. In the Spring/Summer 2009, NSF will convene a
Design Selection Committee. The
committee will provide down-select recommendation to NSF. Members will include some original RCRV
Technical Advisors from Phase I (UNOLS ship operators, technical support,
scientists) plus ship design/construction experts. The process will be well documented and will
use elements of the NAVSEA Selection Criteria and ARRV Shipyard Selection
Process (which has been subject to both internal NSF and external panel review). In fall 2009, NSF will make the final design
decision. NSF will develop a
solicitation for “Construction and Operation of the RCRV” following the ARRV
process model. If construction funds are
identified the project would follow the following timeline:
There would be one ship with options for more. There will be a call for proposals for ship
operator. The operator selected would
manage ship yard construction for all ships.
The projected cost per ship is about $50M. The intent is to meet as many of the Regional
Class SMRs as possible. Some trade-offs
were required to meet budget constraints.
NSF is starting an effort to accurately assess the
condition of the current ships by working with the operators, maintenance
records, and ship inspectors. They can
then make educated decisions on how long to operate the current ships.
OOI – The Final Design Review was completed in November
2008. NSF is preparing documents for
internal GEO review and the Director’s Review Board approval. NSF plans to request approval for a FY10
construction start at the May NSB meeting.
NSF has been requested to provide jobs and economy metrics data for the
OOI project in relationship to the ARRA.
NOAA’s Office of
Marine and Aviation Operations – Bill O’Clock could
not attend the UNOLS meeting in person, but phoned in and provided the NOAA
Report over the phone. His slides are
included as Appendix V and
cover:
·
FY 2009 NOAA Ship & Aircraft
Operations
·
NOAA Ships & Aircraft
Recapitalization
·
Okeanos Explorer Update
·
NOAA Survey Vessel (NSV) Study Update
FY 2009 NOAA Ship & Aircraft Operations – The NOAA Fleet of 19
vessels plan to complete ~3,300 days-at-sea (DAS) and ~3,800 operating days
(ODs). NOAA plans to charter ~3,100 ODs. The 12 NOAA aircraft plan to complete ~4900
flight hours.
NOAA Ship & Aircraft Recapitalization plans include:
·
Pisces (FSV 3)
projected delivery in May 2009 (Builder – VT Halter Marine)
·
Bell M. Shimada (FSV 4) projected delivery in June 2009 (Builder – VTHM)
·
FSV 5 preliminary design moving forward
·
FSV 6 requirements being finalized in
anticipation of funding
·
Ferdinand R. Hassler projected delivery in December 2009 (Builder – VTHM)
The recapitalization status of NOAA aircraft is listed in the slide
package.
Okeanos Explorer Update - Field trials are planned in
the Pacific during June to November 2009.
NOAA Survey Vessel (NSV) Study – The "Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2008" required NOAA to evaluate “the design and operations of future
research vessels in the form of a NOAA Survey Vessel for multi-mission
operations, to maximize on-site activities and modularize for versatile
platform availability“. The NOAA Ship
Recapitalization Plan envisioned a single NSV hull form configured to support
multiple missions. The draft NSV Study
Report is currently under NOAA review and the report is due to Congress in June
29, 2009. The NSV Report recommends the
following: “Focus solely on the Shallow-Draft Variant, which appears capable of
satisfying the majority of mission activity requirements.’ “Green Ship” initiatives will be incorporated
into the NSV acquisition process.
Discussion followed:
·
Marcia McNutt –
In regard to the Okeanos Explorer trials,
she heard that Phoenix was having some difficulties delivering the 2-body
package. Have these problems been
resolved and are they now on schedule.
Bill – There have been problems.
The April/May time frame will look at whether the problems have been
fixed.
·
Bruce Corliss – What
is the “green ship” technology. Bill – He
doesn’t have much info on this. He
doesn’t think it involves the passport issue; it is more in regard to the
environment
·
Dave Checkley – What
will be the homeports for the FSVs. Bill
– The Pisces will likely be in
Pascagoula (there might be some sharing with the Northeast). Once the FSV5 is built, it will go to
Pascagoula – it is a shallow draft ship.
The Shimada is currently
planned to go to Seattle.
NAVY – Tim Schnoor
provided the ONR report. In 2009 there
are 717 days of Navy research funded.
Although they exceeded their budget, they were able to find money to get
all projects to sea. They hope that the
fuel savings can be applied to 2010.
The Navy hopes to continue to implement
upgrades to the AGORs. This is in place
of mid-life refits. In 2010, Tim hopes
to formalize this effort of implementing upgrades.
Tim reviewed the 2010 budget and
plans. The plan includes use of FLIP for
a high res program, RADIO, and marine mammal observations. The last two programs are off Hawaii. They are reviewing and verifying cruise
requirements now for 2010. Mike Prince commented
that the ONR facilities budget hasn’t changed in years, yet operation costs go
up.
Ocean Class AGOR – Details of the Ocean
Class AGOR acquisition effort are included in Appendix VI. Tim has
requested ONR Research Facilities Team augmentation with a temporary, part-time
hire (IPA). In the past there were
multiple people staffing the Research Facilities program during ship
acquisition efforts. The person selected
as the IPA would be the UNOLS rep to the Ocean Class acquisition effort. The request is under review by CNR with a start
date of 1 July. The IPA would represent the
CNR throughout the Ocean Class program.
The Navy’s goal is to have the Ocean Class
AGOR Operator Selection Process complete with the operators on line by October. The operator RFP is in the hands of Navy legal.
Chris MacDonald continued the Navy report
with details on the Ocean Class acquisition.
His slides are included as Appendix VI.
The Phase I/II solicitation is expected to be advertised on March 27th. Chris reviewed the timeline, budget, and acquisition
process (see slides)
Summary of Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) Meeting
and Action Items – Dave Hebert summarized the FIC meeting activities and action
items. His slides are included as Appendix
VII.
·
The SMR Update
Project is ongoing and was a focus of the committee’s March 2009 Meeting. They will need to continue their discussions with
a teleconference.
·
Input
to the Ocean Class Research Vessel RFP Development – UNOLS/FIC provided
feedback on the Ocean Class Specifications developed by the Navy in October 2008.
·
Kilo Moana actions - FIC has kept in touch with the U.
Hawaii to keep abreast of the vessel’s handling system details. The system is in
construction and will possibly be installed and tested in November 2009.
·
Science
User Debriefs for R/V Hugh Sharp – The FIC plans to draft user debrief
questions that will evaluate the new technologies of the ship; primarily its
handling system. During their March
meeting the drafted questions discussed and further revisions are needed.
·
WHOI
Long-Coring System – The first scientific cruise was completed and an
assessment was presented during the FIC meeting. The FIC will continue to informally contact
future science users of the long coring system to assess its capabilities and
performance.
·
Ocean
Observatories – FIC plans to stay in contact with the OOI Office to assess
their research vessel needs.
·
Design
and Constructions Efforts - Stay engaged in ongoing design and construction
efforts (Regional Class, ARRV, Ocean Class, etc.) – Ongoing
·
Fleet
Improvement Plan Update: Finalize document with any comments from Council.
Other items discussed during the FIC
meeting included:
·
The ISS-2000
Integrated Survey System
·
Bubble
Sweep Down and Possible Mitigation Solution
·
Weatherbird
II Improvements.
·
FIC Membership
– there are a few positions hat will open in the fall including Chair. A call for nominations will be announced.
The Council
approved a motion to appoint Maureen Conte and Al Hine to second terms in FIC. (Rich
Findley/John Morrison).
More
to Come...