Executive Summary

This report defines a federal interagency renewal strategy for the national academic research fleet. The Plan addresses renewals, retirements, and technology upgrades for those vessels within the fleet that are over 40 m long. At present (CY 2001), this includes all but one of the federally owned vessels. Larger vessels are expected to be predominantly federally owned, owing to their higher capital costs. Smaller private and state-owned vessels will remain vital to the academic research fleet’s capabilities, but their replacement is not specifically detailed in the Plan as traditionally they have not been built with federal funds.

The Plan defines four basic vessel classes for the current and future fleet:

Global Class ships will continue to be high-endurance vessels, operating worldwide.

Ocean Class ships will fulfill a critical need in fleet modernization by replacing the aging “Intermediate” ships with vessels of increased endurance, technological capability, and number of science berths. These will be ocean-going vessels, though not globally ranging.

Regional Class ships will continue to work in and near the continental margins and coastal zone, but with improved technology and more science berths than in current, comparably sized vessels.

Local Class ships will fulfill nearshore needs that do not require larger or higher-endurance ships. These vessels will be built primarily using non-federal dollars but will continue to receive federal operational and outfitting support.

The renewal strategy presented in this report is based on projected operational life spans for existing vessels and a nominal 30-year life span for new vessels. The fleet’s geographical distribution will be consistent with the anticipated future demand for federally funded academic research. Federal funds for ship construction and operation will be awarded on the basis of open competition.

The baseline assumption for the Plan is to maintain fleet capacity (expressed as total operational days averaged over the most recent five years) at current use levels while increasing capability over the next 20 years and beyond. The rationale for this baseline assumption rests on historical trends of stable to slightly increased federal funding for academic oceanographic research, combined with a modest fleet overcapacity and a consistent trend towards more oceanographic data acquisition from nontraditional platforms. The growing trend towards larger, interdisciplinary, seagoing science teams using increasingly sophisticated research tools demands greater capability.

Over the next two decades, at least ten new ships, including one Global Class ship, six Ocean Class ships (one of which enters service in 2002), and three Regional Class ships are required to maintain capacity and reinvigorate the fleet as aging and less-capable ships retire. If optimistic budget scenarios permit new scientific thrusts outlined in this plan to go forward, fleet size and composition might need to increase up to 13 new ships.

Ships will undergo continuous and significant technological upgrades over their lifetime to ensure that technological innovations are available in the fleet. Building a portfolio of ship-concept designs and identifying science mission requirements (SMRs) will also be important functions undertaken to maintain a modern, technologically viable fleet capable of supporting evolving science needs.

This Plan must be reviewed and updated by the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee (FOFC) at least every five years, based on evolving science requirements and funding trends, to determine whether additional ships will be required before the end of the second decade, and to plan their timely introduction where necessary.

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