Deploying a water sampling rosette aboard the RV Southern Surveyor.

Future Research Vessel

Australia's ocean, climate and geoscience research capability will more than double when its latest ocean-going research vessel joins the national fleet in 2013.

• 5 May 2011 | Updated 14 October 2011

The Future Research Vessel Project

In its May 2009 Budget, the Commonwealth Government committed A$120 million to the purchase of a new ocean-going research vessel for the Marine National Facility.

The project is an initiative of the Australian Government being conducted as part of the Super Science Initiative and financed from the Education Investment Fund. The Future Research Vessel Project was launched in Hobart on 7 August 2009, by Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. See the: Future Research Vessel Project announcement (Video).

CSIRO has been commissioned to manage the Future Research Vessel Project that will deliver the new state-of-the-art vessel to replace the Research Vessel Southern Surveyor.

Following a rigorous procurement process undertaken by the CSIRO, Teekay Holdings Australia Pty Ltd was awarded the contract in January 2011 to design, build and commission the new vessel. The vessel is being designed by RALion (Robert Allan Ltd and Alion Science and Technology) from USA and Canada and is to be built by Sembawang Shipyard Pte. Ltd. at Singapore. As a condition of their approved Australian Industry Participation Plan, Teekay will ensure Australian suppliers and expertise are used where possible.

The process will take 28 months, with the ship scheduled to begin operating by mid 2013. Given the name RV Investigator after a national naming competition, the 89-metre ship will accommodate 40 scientists and cover 10 000 nautical miles in each voyage. The vessel will be used by Australian universities, research organisations and their international collaborators to undertake vital marine research that will inform our sustainable ocean management practices. See the: Float-a-name competition announcement (Video).

CSIRO will own and manage the new vessel. Its operation will be guided by an independent steering committee and funded by the Australian Government to support voyages mounted by Australian scientists and their overseas collaborators.

The Marine National Facility provides Australia's only dedicated blue-water research vessel capable of operating in our vast ocean territory. Australia needs a dedicated, large, multi-disciplinary blue-water research vessel.

CSIRO has a 25-year track record in managing the Marine National Facility. The Facility is overseen by a Ministerial-appointed steering committee, with representatives from academia, industry and government.

The Marine National Facility addresses key national research priorities, principally:

• responding to climate change and variability (prediction of climate is heavily reliant on ocean observations)
• developing offshore oil, gas and mineral resources (providing fundamental knowledge about the composition of Australia’s deep ocean estate)
• sustainable use of Australia’s unique biodiversity (in recent deep water surveys, 40 per cent of all organisms collected were new to science).

Learn more at Australia's Marine National Facility explores our oceans.