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 The or Ifremer is an oceanographic institution in Brest, France. A state-run and funded scientific organization, it is France’s national integrated marine science research institute. Scope of works Ifremer focuses its research activities in ...

. 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''), river floors, or lake floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water ...

and

seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

research, as well as

coring Coring happens when a heated alloy, such as a Cu-Ni system, cools in non-equilibrium conditions. The center of each grain, which is the first part to freeze, is rich in the high-melting element (e.g., nickel for this Cu–Ni system), whereas the c ...

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 d ...

, and

trawling Trawling is an industrial 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 di ...

tasks.

History

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

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime departments of France, department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth ...

. 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 navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects 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 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 The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

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

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

before travelling to

La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer (; "La Seyne on Sea"; ), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, is situated adja ...

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 as ...

. It has a

safe working load Lifting equipment, also known as lifting gear, is a general term for any equipment that can be used to lift and lower loads. Types of lifting equipment include heavy machinery such as the patient lift, overhead cranes, forklifts, jacks, build ...

(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 from when the aircraft levels off after a climb until it begins to descend for landing. Cruising usually comprises the majority of a flight, and may include small changes in heading (direction of flight), ...

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

References

External links

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