International Working
International collaborations are an incredibly important component of supporting modern science at sea. Many issues facing marine science are global in nature and so require international solutions, such as the bartering or exchange of ships and equipment. In addition, when compared to other ship operators, research vessels form a niche area of activity in the shipping industry, so sharing of knowledge and best practice is vital.
Bartering
In order to minimise unproductive vessel steaming time with our ship relocating for specific cruises, NERC has a number of agreements in place with international partners for mutual access to each other’s vessels. The respective planning teams work closely together to identify future opportunities when a barter has potential to eliminate an unnecessary passage.
A recent example occurred when UK scientists were awarded funding to carry out a seismic survey on the Tonga Trench in the SW Pacific. It was immediately clear that none of NERC’s vessels were planned to work in this area in the foreseeable future. As a consequence, it was agreed to send the research cruise to sea on the German vessel, RV Sonne, which was working in the South Pacific for a year. In return, German scientists have been given time on one of the UK vessels. Since 1994 NERC has exchanged approximately 3.5 years of ship time, saving over £1 Million in fuel costs.
The barter system does not just stop at vessel time; with both highly specialised equipment and personnel also regularly exchanged. The barter system has brought many other advantages with greater communication between the members, knowledge exchange, experience and ideas which all creates improvements for the scientists and the science.
NERC works within 2 types of barter frameworks:
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Oceans Facilities Exchange Group (OFEG)
A multi-member agreement, currently comprising France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. All member countries have deep sea research vessels which operate across the planet’s oceans. Read more about the Ocean Facilities Exchange Group → -
Bilateral arrangements
NERC has individual agreements for exchanges with the:- National Science Foundation (USA) – an agreement which since mid-1980s has given NERC access to their 27 ships; Read more about the National Science Foundation →
- Marine Institute (Ireland) – access to the RV Celtic Explorer and RV Celtic Voyager; and
- CSIC-UTM (Spain) – a ground-breaking agreement which established a joint pool of geophysical equipment and shared staff.
Sharing of Best Practice
While bartering results in some very tangible benefits, it also fosters much better communication between its partners, and provides for the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas. In addition though, NERC is a participant in some key international groups specifically set up for the exchange of both knowledge and best practice:
- International Research Ship Operators (IRSO) Read more about the International Research Ship Operators →
- European Research Vessel Operators (ERVO)
