RV ''Le Suroît'' is a French

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

operated by

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 ...

. In 1985, it was involved in the successful Franco-American expedition to find the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. Since being refurbished in 1999, the vessel is able to undertake

bathymetric Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water de ...

and

seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

research, as well as coring,

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

, and

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different speci ...

tasks.

History

The vessel was commissioned and built in 1975 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Manche in

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newh ...

. In 1985, the ship was equipped with the new ''System Acoustique Remorqué'' (SAR)

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

device. In early summer, the vessel undertook a 10-day sonar mission in an attempt to find the wreckage of RMS ''Titanic''. Aboard ''Le Suroît'' on this mission was

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of ...

. ''Le Suroît'' was able to rule out large sections of a pre-determined search area – between 26 July and 6 August, 80% of the area had been searched. It later transpired that on one of its first passes, ''Le Suroît'' had come within only of ''Titanic''. The mission ended on 6 August, after which RV ''Knorr'' travelled from the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

to concentrate on more specific areas using different strategies. In October 2011, the vessel was on assignment in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

before travelling to

La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer (; "La Seyne on Sea"; oc, La Sanha), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 62,888. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is pa ...

in December.

Facilities and equipment

The vessel is equipped with a range of devices. The computers run IFREMER's ''CARAIBES'' mapping software. The coring cable is long and is made of

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

. It has a

safe working load Safe Working Load (SWL) sometimes stated as the Normal Working Load (NWL) is the maximum safe force that a piece of lifting equipment, lifting device or accessory can exert to lift, suspend, or lower, a given mass without fear of breaking. Usually ...

(SWL) of 8 tons. The ship also has a steel winch, with an SWL of 2.1 tons. The average

cruising speed Cruise is the phase of aircraft flight that starts when the aircraft levels off after a climb, until it begins to descend for landing. Cruising usually consumes the majority of a flight, and it may include changes in heading (direction of flight ...

, and the speed at which surveying is undertaken, is approximately .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Suroit 1974 ships Ships built in France Research vessels of France