I’ve had several requests from the community to find a way to get the word out as to what’s happening with the construction of the RCRV’s. Good suggestion, I thought, so I’m hereby starting this blog series that I’ll use to pass along updates and issues as they arise. Feel free to post comments or questions and I’ll do my best to respond. Needless to say, inappropriate comments will not see the light of day, but I won’t censor constructive criticism. We’ll see how this goes…
So, after a thorough and lengthy selection process, we’re on contract with Gulf Island Shipyard in Houma, LA to construct the first of what will hopefully be three great ships for the NSF and U.S. ocean science community. We’re currently in the process of establishing OSU’s shipyard office on site. The staff have been itching to get started for a long time, so it feels great to be making progress towards getting the keel laid. If all goes as planned, we hope to see that occur next spring.
In the meantime, the shipyard staff and Gulf Island will be working together (with our engineers from The Glosten Associates hereafter referred to as “Glosten”) to take our bid-ready ship design and turn it into a production ready package. This process, called “Design Verification and Transfer” or DVT, is where we verify Glosten’s design, make any tweaks as necessary to make it work for the shipyard construction processes, and then transfer it from Glosten to the shipyard (and its engineering team from Gibbs and Cox Marine Solutions, hereafter called “Gibbs and Cox”). They’ll be going through every aspect of the ship from stem to stern, looking at every pipe and deck fitting; it’s a very detailed and lengthy process. And although it will take months to go through everything, it will save time in the end by minimizing re-work. Think of the adage: Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. We’re doing our prior preparation here…
One science-related issue that’s recently been discussed has to do with how the vessel will support sediment coring activities at sea. The RCRV program is currently working with OSU’s Marine Sediment Sampling Group (MARSSAM) to ensure that our new ships will be able to fully support obtaining cores from the ocean bottom of up to 50′ long. We’re working on an innovative solution that will be able to take advantage of the ship’s double articulated stern A-frame to bring them safely on board. Stay tuned for more on that as it develops.
Ok. That’s good for the opening salvo into the blog-o-sphere. I’ll try to get one of these posted every week or as interesting issues arise. Stay tuned! /d
