Contact: Jeanne Kouhestani FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(202) 482-6090 11/2/95
The Russian research vessel R/V YUZHMORGEOLOGIYA, represented in the United States by a Redmond, Wash., company, will take the place of the recently decommissioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship SURVEYOR as the ocean platform for NOAA's Antarctic Marine Living Resources program in 1996. This program has been conducted aboard the SURVEYOR since 1988-89.
The Office of NOAA Corps Operations (ONCO), which operates and manages the agency's fleet of ships, awarded the $1,704,186 charter contract on Oct. 17 to the Central Marine Geological and Geophysical Expedition of Redmond, Wash. ONCO will also manage the acquisition and temporary installation of some of the highly specialized scientific equipment needed aboard the ship to accomplish the NOAA program's mission.
The 70-day charter, to begin and end in Punta Arenas, Chile, will commence in January 1996 and consist of 63 days underway and seven days in port. The contract contains three options for annual cruises during the same time frame and duration in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Each year following the first year has an option for an additional 30-day research leg and three-day port call. If these options are exercised, the cruise would start in December instead of January. These additional years and options are priced separately from the 1996 contract.
The R/V YUZHMORGEOLOGIYA was built in 1985 as an ice classed fishing trawler/processing vessel and later converted for research purposes. It is 104.5 meters long and operated by a crew and scientific support staff of 41 to 51 people.
NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, a component of the National Marine Fisheries Service, is responsible for the Antarctic Marine Living Resources program. Program scientists aboard ship will conduct oceanographic, trawling, acoustic biomass sensing, and small boat operations to describe the fundamental relationship between krill, krill's predators, and key environmental variables. This research is part of the United States' commitment to the international treaty to preserve the Antarctic known as the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.