Long range scheduling & planning

WHOI vessel scheduling is coordinated through UNOLS. University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) is an organization of 61 academic institutions and National Laboratories involved in oceanographic research and joined for the purpose of coordinating oceanographic ships' schedules and research facilities.

Major Shipboard services and equipment are items and technical support for equipment that is not part of the standard shipboard outfit. This includes such things as coring equipment, mooring winches, towed magnetometers and specialized technician support for coring, seabeam and other specialized tasks.

Please note the following:

1. It is important to communicate your needs of the installed and shared use equipment aboard the vessel to the Research Vessel Science Coordinator.
2. Please select the equipment needed on the Cruise Planning Questionnaire.
3. If the request is not received in time (typically October of the year before the cruise) to be included into the annual WHOI NSF Technical Support proposal, or is a substantial modification to an original request, then the requester will be advised of and charged for expenses related to preparation and/or non-standard configuration and unscheduled calibrations.
4. If not requested, installed and shared use equipment may not be available for your cruise due to usage on another cruise, maintenance or calibration requirements.

For more information please view the following resources:

» R/V Atlantis Scientific Equipment
» R/V Neil Armstrong Specifications
» List of Shared Equipment
» UNOLS east coast winch pool
» UNOLS west coast winch pool -  under development, contact Eric Buck for more information.
» UNOLS east coast van pool
» UNOLS west coast van pool

Overview

The United States recognizes that countries have jurisdiction over marine scientific research within their territorial seas (TS) and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). Consequently, should U.S. marine science research interests lie within the TS or EEZ of another country, written authorization from the respective country must be obtained prior to the start of the cruise.

Procedure

1. It is the responsibility of the Chief Scientist to inform the Marine Operations Coordinator well in advance and in detail of:
   • any plans to work within the 200 mile limit, and
   • any desired port call in a foreign country
2. The application lead time for some countries can be up to 7 months. The Marine Operations Coordinator will provide and assist you with the EEZ Authorization request documentation. The Marine Operations Coordinator will be the Submitting Officer for this document but will require information from the Chief Scientist not limited to CV, passport photo, cruise plan and a stations chart.
3. The Submitting Officer will be contacted immediately by the Department of State if further documentation is requested from the foreign authorities.
4. Once a final response is obtained from the foreign authorities, the Department of State will fax the authorization paperwork to the Submitting Officer who will forward the document to the Chief Scientist and Master.

Please note: It is the responsibility of the Chief Scientist to obtain and possess during the research a valid CITES collection permit, if applicable.

Please also note: Official observers or scientific participants may have to be carried on board ship or be involved in the processing of the scientific results. Additional port calls may be necessary to accommodate foreign observers. The host nation may require sharing of samples and data; at a minimum they require copies of technical reports and papers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Transportation and subsistence costs for foreign participation may have to be provided. These costs are the responsibility of the Chief Scientist.

Cruise Plan Changes/Cancellations

Once written authorization is obtained, any and all changes to the itinerary, scientific plan, and ship specifications must be reported to the Department of State immediately. The Department of State will transmit this information to the appropriate foreign authorities for additional coastal state authorization or notification.

Post-Cruise Obligations

After the research is conducted, the Chief Scientist must submit:

Preliminary Report Form

Final Report through the Submitting Officer (WHOI Marine Operations Coordinator).

The Preliminary Report Form must be submitted no later than 30 days following the end date of the
authorized research, and the Final Report must be submitted no later than two years following the end date of the authorized research.  The Final Report must be either;

1. On official (Institution or University) letter head and in pdf format
2. Official  letter from the Chief Scientist explaining that the Final Report and data can be found on an existing URL.  This letter with the URL address must be signed by the Chief Scientist, be on official letterhead and be in pdf format.

Failure to meet these deadlines will impact all other applications awaiting authorization.

WHOI operates three research vessels with different capabilities. Find information about each ship's specifications, capabilities, layouts, schedules and much more at the below links.

R/V Atlantis

Atlantis is designed as a general purpose vessel and specifically outfitted for launching and servicing the Alvin human occupied submersible.

R/V Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong is a large general purpose research vessel that operates globally and can accommodate a wide range of oceanographic tasks.

R/V Tioga

The Tioga is a small, fast research vessel designed and outfitted for oceanographic research close to shore.