UNOLS FLEET IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
University of Southern
Mississippi
Department of Marine Science Facility
NASA's
John C. Stennis Space Center
Building 1022 - The George A. Knauer Building
Meeting Minutes
A pdf version of these minutes are available at <201003ficmi.pdf>.
Executive
Summary
The UNOLS
Fleet Improvement Committee (FIC) met at the University of Mississippi’s
facilities at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on March 29-30, 2010.
The second day of the meeting included a joint session with the Council. Major topics of the meeting included
fleet utilization and renewal efforts. Agency representatives reported on
budget projections and facility acquisition efforts. NSF
tasked the FIC to respond to thirteen areas of inquiry regarding the Regional
Class Research Vessel design.
Presentations
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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 |
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XVII |
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XVIII |
FIC
Action Items:
Design and
Construction Efforts:
1) Regional Class Research
Vessel (RCRV) – FIC is tasked to provide NSF with recommendations on 13
areas of inquiry that were raised by the RCRV down-select process. These
recommendations will be incorporated where appropriate in the Phase I Project
Refresh solicitation documents. NSF has requested FIC recommendations by 1
October 2010.
2) Ocean Class Research
Vessel (OCRV):
- Once the OCRV operator selection in known, FIC will
identify members for an Ocean Class Advisory Committee (OCAC).
- Chris MacDonald
will provide guidance on any membership constraints.
- The OCAC will work
with the Navy to define the task and role of the OCAC which will include
providing advice regarding Science Sea Trial plans.
Science Mission
Requirements (SMRs) Update:
- FIC is tasked to compare
the Ocean Class SMRs to Phase I Industry Team RFP Performance Specs to see how
designers and spec writers have interpreted the SMR. Will use this to add more
specific information to OC-SMRs, paving the way for Global Class SMRs
-
The original SMR project tasking is available at <http://www.unols.org/committees/fic/smr/update08/index.html>
-
Status – the Ocean Class SMR (OCSMR) table of values and priorities has
been completed.
- The OCSMR document requires an updated to be consistent
with the table values.
- FIC agreed that general specifications and
principles that apply to all SMR documents should be contained in a separate
document.
Fleet Planning:
1) Projected Service Life
End Dates - FIC will review all projected end of service life dates for the
existing fleet and work with NSF to make recommendations on new end dates,
investments, and upgrades through to 2030.
2) Matching science
demands to Fleet capabilities - FIC will continue to prioritize community needs
within the context of a changing fleet including:
- Science
drivers
- A more versatile and fully outfitted R/V Marcus
Langseth
- R/V Sikuliaq with 24 science berths
- Final size and
capabilities of two OCRV
- RCRVs
3) R/V Barnes Replacement
– UW has requested feedback from FIC regarding replacement options for
the R/V Barnes.
FIC Membership and
Nominations:
- One operator position will open on
FIC
- A call for nominations with a deadline of 30 September will be
distributed and posted
- FIC will review the nominations at their fall
meeting.
UNOLS Outreach/Mentoring
Initiatives:
1) Create a UNOLS
mentoring program that will introduce junior scientists to cruise planning and
participation. Utilization of the fleet is low; we need to increase the user
base. Consider transit cruises as possible mentoring opportunities. Prepare a
proposal for a mentoring program. (Office/FIC/Council)
2) Cruise opportunity page
and volunteers - Cruise opportunities are needed. There are many volunteers
http://www.unols.org/info/cruise_opportunities.html#volunteer_list . The office
will contact PIs who have scheduled ship time.
Fleet
Improvement Plan (FIP):
1) Appendix on Ocean
Acoustics – David Bradley has volunteered to draft the Appendix.
2) FIP Recommendations -
Follow-up and work to implement the 10 FIP recommendations. The FIC Chair
should review the recommendations at future Council meetings to provide updates
on their status and identify areas where additional assistance or resources are
required.
Keep abreast of new
technologies entering the UNOLS fleet:
1) RV Hugh Sharp Debriefs
-
- Review the Sharp schedule for any changes and assignment revisions -
Clare
- FIC will continue R/V Hugh Sharp debriefs
- Debrief
summaries should be sent to Clare and Annette
2) RV Kilo Moana Load
handling system – FIC will obtain feedback on the system performance and
capabilities.
3) WHOI Long-Coring System
–
- Clare will contact the PIs for user feedback.
- A White
Paper prepared by Al Suchy, Jay Edgar and Bill Curry on WHOI Long-Coring System
provides an assessment on possible platforms after Knorr’s reaches its end of
service. No FIC action at this time.
Ocean Observatory
Initiative - Stay in contact with OOI Office. The FIC Chair
contacts the OOI Office prior to each FIC meeting for the latest facility
update.
Day 1: Monday, March 29, 2010
Call the Meeting: Annette DeSilva reported that Clare
Reimers, FIC Chair, would not be able to attend the meeting in person, but she
joined by phone from Oregon. Al
Hine has agreed to fill in and Chair the meeting.
Vernon
Asper, UNOLS Chair, provided opening remarks. He welcomed the group to the University of Southern
Mississippi.
Meeting
participants introduced themselves.
The meeting agenda is contained as Appendix I and the attendance list
is Appendix
II.
Accept Meeting Minutes from the October 2009
Meeting <200910ficmi.pdf> - A motion was made and
passed to accept the October 2009 FIC meeting minutes with the correction of
the institution “USF.”
FIC Membership – Jim Cochran’s term will end in 2010. The current FIC membership list is
included as Appendix III.
Reports on Research Vessel
Design and Construction Efforts:
Regional Class Research Vessel (RCRV) - Matt Hawkins (NSF)
provided the report. His slides
are included as Appendix IV. An RCRV Down-select Panel
provided their final report to NSF in October 2009. The Glosten Associates design was recommended to move
forward into the “Project Refresh” phase.
The Panel identified issues with both designs and provided a list of “Future areas of inquiry.”
NSF would like community input on the “Future Areas of Inquiry” and has tasked FIC
to investigate and provide a formal recommendation regarding the areas of inquiry.
The FIC response is requested by October 1, 2010.
If construction
funds are identified, NF will release a solicitation for “Construction
and Operation of the RCRV” in early 2011.
Shipyard selection would be in 2012 with construction to start in 2013. The first ship would be ready to begin
science operations in 2016.
Discussion:
· Peter Wiebe – What
does the transition look like? We
have ships now that are quite old.
Bob Houtman – The NSF inspections are revealing that the ships are
very capable.
· Matt Hawkins – The
inspection program is taking a very active role in determining the condition of
the ships.
· Al Hine – Is
anything saved by constructing multiple ships? Matt Hawkins – Maybe not. NSF will follow the ARRV model for construction of the
RCRVs.
· Al Hine – Will
getting a second RCRV take a shorter amount of time? Bob Houtman – There will be an option for a second
ship, so construction could move forward more quickly.
· Peter Wiebe –
Would the institution that was awarded the first ship also build the second
ship? Houtman – Yes.
· Annette – Would
this be an MRE project? Bob
Houtman – The MRE is currently not the plan, but NSF will need to fund
the acquisition over multiple years.
The discussion next
focused on the FIC tasking to investigate the Future Areas of Inquiry:
· Bob Houtman – NSF
does not want the RCRVs to be too large.
They would become too similar to the OCRVs.
· Matt Hawkins – The
RCRV will be under 300GT.
· Matt – NSF would
like the FIC to consider the areas of inquiry from the panel and make
recommendations. They want these
ships to be able to serve the community.
· Matt presented the URN
chart for the ARRV and the Ocean Class AGORs in comparison to the ICES curve.
· Chris MacDonald –
Some ships initially meet ICES, but over the years they degrade. It is a very stringent curve.
· Annette – If might
be necessary for the FIC to seek outside expertise to investigate some of the
Areas of Inquiry. Matt – He realizes this and will work with FIC in
addressing these needs.
· Matt – Some of the
questions require yes and no answers.
NSF is not asking for trade-off suggestions or costs; these things can
be re-evaluated during refresh.
Ocean Class Research Vessel (OCRV) - Chris
MacDonald (NAVSEA PEO-Ships and Mike Prince (ONR) provided the status of the OCRV project. The slides are included as Appendix
V.
Chris reviewed the status of the source selection. The Phase I awardees were Marinette Marine Corporation and Dakota Creek Industries, Inc and the contract awards were on 27 Jan 2010. The First design review meeting will take place in late April (MMC) and mid-Mat (DCI). The Phase II: Detail Design and Construction Contract award is expected in quarter 3 of FY 2011 and the ship deliveries would be in FY 2014.
The community has had periodic opportunities to provide input to the OCRV
project (see slides).
Discussion:
·
Jon
Alberts – Will FIC have additional opportunities to provide input over
the next 9 months? Chris –
At this time input will be from the contracting office to the teams. The teams are competing and there is a
formal process that has to be followed.
·
The
Science Oversight Committee (SOC) won’t be in place for the first design
review. Al Suchy – this will
be unfortunate. Chris – they
were worried about the conflicts of interest with operating teams. Now, there is concern of the amount of
time that each member has to spend reviewing documents.
·
Annette
– Who forms the oversight committee? Tim Schnoor – ONR with the ship operators will provide
input on the OCAC.
·
Mike
Prince – When FIC forms the Ocean Class Advisory Committee (OCOC) they
should consider disciplinary balances.
·
Al Hine
– What are the Green Issues for the OCRV? Mike Prince –California rules that will comply.
Mike Prince provided information about Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC)
and Dakota Creek Industries (DCI) Company.
ONR has appointed Mike Prince as their Research Facilities Assistant for the OCRV project. He reports to Tim Schnoor at ONR and works with Chris MacDonald at PEO Ships. Mike will represent the interests of ONR and the broader UNOLS community during the Ocean Class AGOR design and construction process. Mike will coordinate with Operator representatives during the design reviews and construction. Responsibilities are listed in the slides.
PEO Ships requested Phase I/II UNOLS Operator Ocean Class AGOR Representatives in Oct 2008. Responsibilities of the representatives are listed in the slides. The Operator Selection Board has been reviewing the proposals that were submitted by institutions interested in operating the vessels. The selection will probably be done by the end of April 2010.
OCRV Uncontaminated Seawater Systems – Mike Prince and Maureen Conte
presented information on the community poll and the plans for the system. Slides are included as Appendix
VI.
Maureen
explained that the community was polled in late 2009. The systems that were
suggested are very varied. A
definition of what is considered clean is included in the slides. In addition to pipe specifications,
maintenance is very important when in comes to “clean”. All components must be cleaned.
UW System components include pipe and fittings, pump, and the intake system. The science requirement is that system components do not introduce
contaminant metals or organic compounds.
The slides include a materials comparison. There is a nice
chart of materials and their properties. There is also a price comparison. Inappropriate pipe joining methods introduce
contamination. Maintenance requirements are very
important. Systems must be
designed to be cleanable. There
must be routine maintenance and cleaning to remove biofouling. There must also be periodic aggressive
cleaning/disassembly to leach any contaminants.
Recommendations and lessons learned include:
· PP, PVDF and Teflon (less so) nonporous and
most resistant to biofouling
· Isolate system in polluted or near-shore
areas
· No elbows- sponge scrubber system can be
· Threaded parts where required for disassembly
· Ability to rinse/isolate system or leach with
deionized water (or weak acid, cleaning solutions (e.g. ball-valves)
Safety and compliance issues are included in
the slides.
Discussion:
·
Annette – How often is the
maintenance done? Maureen –
It is all over the board. Users
need to communicate better with the operators.
·
Robin – in the late 1970s he was on
the Alpha Helix and the plastic pipe broke.
·
Marc – USCG won’t let ships use PVC
– toxic, flammable, etc.
·
Mike Prince – Lined pipe is called
out in the SMRs and is acceptable to USCG. Mike there is a cleaning agent.
·
Mike – He will go back to Maureen’s
slides to see what can be implemented on the OCRVs.
·
Marc Willis – Sikuliaq will go with Stainless. They had budgeting for PVC. Users have an option of bringing
their own systems aboard and running it through the centerboard. On the ARRV they had a concern with ice
ruining the pipe lining.
·
Mike Prince – Is the user community
saying that the ships that use stainless are no good. Maureen – Some people feel that way.
Break
R/V Sikuliaq - Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV) - Marc Willis provided the status of the Sikuliaq construction. His slides are included as Appendix
VII.
Fleet Utilization in 2010, OOI
ship time projections
– Annette DeSilva provided a summary of operations that are planned on
UNOLS vessels in 2010. The slides
include utilization statistics as well as science highlights. The cruise tracks were displayed. OOI ship projections were
provided. Annette’s slides are
included as Appendix VIII.
Issues before RV operators and
technical support groups:
RVOC - Al Suchy provided a report on the Research
Vessel Operators’ Committee activities.
His slides are included as Appendix IX. Efforts are focusing on the RV Safety
Standards Appendix A (UNOLS Rope/Cable
Safe Working Load Standards) and
RVSS Appendix B (UNOLS Load
Handling System Design Standards).
The upcoming annual RVOC meeting will be held in Narragansett,
Rhode Island.
RVTEC – Marc Willis provided the RVTEC
update. UNOLS Technical Support
groups are working with the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) team to assist
with sending underway data to shore.
RVTEC members are interested in learning more about Technician
Recruiting and Retention Pilot Program that will be lead by Alice Doyle.
Projected Service Life End
Dates - The projected service life end dates
for ships with end dates of 2015 or earlier are included in Appendix
X. Bob Houtman requested
that the FIC work with NSF to re-examine at all end of service life dates and
consider the ship inspections as part of the evaluation.
Aging Vessels – Is there a need for a pool of
long-lead time spare-parts pool? – Annette DeSilva reported that with the
increasing age of some of the vessel, system/equipment failures seem to be on
the rise. These can result in
lengthy operational downtimes.
There has been a request that a spare-parts pool be established for
those items with procurement long-lead times. Al Suchy commented that with the AGOR fleet, they have
been trying to stay ahead of the spares, but it has been a real challenge. It has been very frustrating. They are
trying to rebuild the spare supply.
Lead-times are often long and costs are high. The agencies have been very supportive.
Bob Houtman added that the last two failures were with props and
couplings. These never occurred
before, so it is difficult to know which spares to keep in stock.
Shipboard Noise in labs and
accommodation spaces –
Annette DeSilva reported that an email was received from a ship user regarding
ship noise. The email message is
included as Appendix XI and comments that the
current fleet is very noisy.
UNOLS Council and Committee
Activities of Interest to FIC:
Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC) - Robin Muench, AICC Chair, provided a
report. The USCG will have the Polar Star back in operation in two
years. There are considerations
for a new ship. There will be
greater demand in the Arctic waters for search and rescue with the ice melt.
Council and Committees
– Annette DeSilva continued with a summary of UNOLS activities. Her slides are included as Appendix
XII. The topics covered in
the slides include:
·
UNOLS
publications
·
UNOLS
Goals and Priorities (including Greening the Fleet)
·
Rolling
Deck to Repository (R2R) Initiative
·
Proposed
New UNOLS Standing Committee - Ocean Observatories Science Committee
·
DEep
Submergence Science Committee (DESSC) Activities
·
Marcus
Langseth Science Oversight Committee (MLSOC)
·
SCOAR
Activities.
Lunch Break
Evaluation of possible platforms to support NSF's Long Core System
- Currently Knorr is the only ship in
the UNOLS fleet configured to deploy the long core system and Knorr is slated for its end of service
life in 2015 as per the Fleet Status Report. A study is underway to determine the feasibility of other
UNOLS vessels supporting the Long Core System. Jay Edgar (Glosten) presented information from the
study. His slides are included as Appendix
XIV. The topics that are
detailed in the slides included:
· Long Core System
Overview
· Long Core
Components
· Long Core
Interface Requirements
· Vessel Comparison
· Summary of
Findings
A vessel comparison matrix is provided that compares Knorr,
Thompson/Revelle, Atlantis, Langseth, Sikuliaq, OCRV, RCRV, and Kilo Moana.
The summary of the study provided the
following findings:
· R/V Knorr –
Long Core Integration Design and Capability Baseline
· R/V Thompson and
Revelle - Direct Integration - 40m core with modification (Stanchions)
· R/V Langseth - Direct Integration
complex; review Long Core system revisions
· R/V Sikuliaq -
Direct
Integration - 34m core with major modification (Baltic Room)
· OCRV -Direct Integration
if OCRV Requirements changed for One-off Vessel
· RCRV and R/V Kilo
Moana - Not Viable Candidates for Long Core support
RV Hugh Sharp’s debriefs – Clare Reimers reported on the Sharp
debriefs. Her slides are included
as Appendix
XV. In light of the RCRV Phase I- Project Refresh, R/V
Hugh R. Sharp debrief process has high importance. Clare’s reviewed the debrief responses
from one of the recent vessel users (see slides).
The FIC agreed to continue the debrief
interviews. Clare asked the
committee to send debrief summaries to Clare and Annette.
RV Kilo Moana Load handling system – Sandy Shor (U. Hawaii) provided a set of slides on the status of
the installation of the new Load Handling System. Clare Reimers summarized the slides (Appendix
XVI).
The Caley CTD handling system was installed
on R/V Kilo Moana in January 2010 and tested successful in February. It will be used for science in March. “Overall
the entire system works very well. Launching and recovering utilizing the
docking head reduces the number of personnel required from five to two
(technician to run the crane & winch during deployment/recovery, one AB to
take up tension on the cable while preparing to launch or after recovery, and
to run the winch during long casts). The docking head stabilization feature
reduces the wild pitching packages experienced previously, making operations
safer for equipment and personnel.”
Tim McGovern
The slides provide the acceleration data.
Tim Schnoor (ONR) reported that he just learned the motor burned out
with 900 meters of wire payed out.
The system is inoperative and he doesn’t know the cost implications.
Global Class Planning – The Fleet Improvement Plan recommends that
the process for acquiring a new Global Class vessel begin now. Annette presented slides that highlight
the continued need for Global Class ships (Appendix XVII). The Global ship use over the past three
years has been worldwide. Utilization
statistics for the Global ships were provided.
·
Al Suchy
–The demand for the Global ships is great. The 2010 Global ship schedules were demanding and could be
harmful to the current ships. It
is something that we need to think about.
·
Bob Houtman –
The shape of the fleet will adjust to meet the demand. Science must be the driver.
·
Matt Hawkins
– Sikuliaq will come on line
and it can support OOI.
Tuesday, March
30th: Joint session of the FIC and Council
Call the
Meeting: The Fleet
Improvement Committee met with the UNOLS Council on the morning of March 30,
2010 in a joint session. The
minutes of this session along with the presentations are available at:
http://www.unols.org/meetings/2010/201003cnc/201003cncmi.html
.