MV ''Odyssey'' (formerly ''Alucia'') is a 56-meter research and exploration vessel that facilitates a wide range of diving, submersible and aerial operations. The ship is currently used by OCEEF, and was previously utilized by initiative

OceanX OceanX is an ocean exploration initiative founded by Mark Dalio and Ray Dalio, founder of investment firm Bridgewater Associates, An initiative by Dalio Philanthropies, OceanX is a “mission to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world. O ...

for ocean exploration, research and filming missions.

History

''Odyssey'' was built as a heavy lift ship with a launch platform for diving and submersible operations in 1974 in Auroux,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as the RV ''Nadir''. In 1984 it was purchased by the French oceanographic institute

IFREMER IFREMER (Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer; ) is an oceanographic institution in Brest, France. Scope of works Ifremer focuses its research activities in the following areas: * Monitoring, use and enhancement of coa ...

and in 2004 by DeepOcean Quest. It was subsequently purchased by

Bridgewater Associates Bridgewater Associates is an American investment management firm founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. The firm serves institutional clients including pension funds, endowments, foundations, foreign governments, and central banks. It utilizes a glob ...

founder

Ray Dalio Raymond Thomas Dalio (born August 8, 1949) is an American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager, who has served as co-chief investment officer of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, since 1985. He founded Bridgewater i ...

to support and facilitate ocean exploration and research. In 2012, Mark Dalio founded Alucia Productions (now OceanX Media) to film and chronicle ocean exploration and research missions aboard the ''Alucia''.

Features

''Odyssey'' has two

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s, the Triton Submersible 3300/3 (named ''Nadir'' + and the Deep Rover 2), both rated for a maximum depth of . The ship also has an A-star helicopter and helipad; dry and wet science labs; 8K Red cameras, low-light submersible cameras and custom underwater camera housings; and a media room.

Missions

Notable missions aboard ''Odyssey'' have included: * The 2011 search for

Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 (AF447 or AFR447) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications led to the pilots inadvertently stalling the Airbus A330 ser ...

* Filming of

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning series ''

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

'' * ''Filming of

BBC Earth BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster. BBC Earth commercia ...

Blue Planet II ''Blue Planet II'' is a 2017 British nature documentary series on marine life produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Like its predecessor, ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), it is narrated and presented by naturalist Sir David Attenborough. After ...

'' (with OceanX Media) * Capturing the first-ever footage of the

Giant Squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trace ...

* Exploring the ocean's blue holes for the Emmy Award-winning series ''

Years of Living Dangerously ''Years of Living Dangerously'' is an American documentary television series, spread over two seasons, focusing on climate change. The first season, consisting of nine episodes, was broadcast on Showtime in 2014. The second season, consisting ...

References

External links

OCEEF
Alucia
OceanX {{DEFAULTSORT:Alucia Research vessels of France Ships of the Marshall Islands 1974 ships