RV Investigator welcomed to port

The research vessel Investigator was officially commissioned into service on Friday by Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane. At a welcome-to-port ceremony, held on the CSIRO Wharf at Battery Point, Hobart, the vessel was handed over from CSIRO to the Marine National Facility for operation.

Prior to the handover, CSIRO had been undertaking various sea trials in order to test and calibrate the $20 million worth of scientific equipment on board the vessel, as well as develop safe work practices. Marine National Facility Director Ron Plaschke noted that the trial voyages were plagued by rain, hail and wind - and yet: “The onboard stabilisation system using internal anti-roll tanks works very well, and we were impressed with the way in which the ship handled in the rough weather.”

In one such test, hydrographers used the Investigator to create the first 3D images of the ocean floor around Tasmania. According to the manager of the Geophysical Survey and Mapping Team at CSIRO, Dr Tara Martin, “the data we’re collecting is at higher resolution than ever before and will fill in a lot of gaps for local fishermen, the maritime industry and scientists.”

Macfarlane said the Abbott government has invested over $65 million to “support the Investigator’s contribution to a wide range of critical research in our waters and beyond over the next 30 years”. He said such research will include:

• Improving our search for new oil and gas reserves and other resources, to help secure Australia’s future energy and resource needs.
• Studying what lives 1500-3000 m below the surface, to improve the sustainable management of our marine resources.
• Collecting weather data in remote locations like the Southern and Indian Oceans, improving forecasts and assisting in better preparing communities for weather events.

After a lengthy construction and testing period, which began on 31 January 2012, the Investigator will undertake its first research voyage next year.