Research Expeditions
At any one time scientists and technicians from the UK marine community can be at sea on numerous vessels. This page provides information on the current research expeditions being undertaken by our two Royal Research Ships Discovery and James Cook. Here you can discover where our ships are and what they are aiming to achieve.
Updates from the ships’ Plans of Intended Movement (PIM)
| RRS Discovery | RRS James Cook |
|---|---|
|
Vessel: Discovery Subj: PIM Pos: Drydocked Prince Edward Graving Dock, Durban WX: Light airs. Hazy. Sheltered Waters
Status: Dry dock work ongoing. All required tanks opened and chemist certified for entry. Mechanical preparation of hull in progress. Works ongoing on both main propulsion units and tees white gill unit.
Intentions: Continue with works as per dry dock specification. Provisional date for exit dry dock 26th.
Other: Full enclosed space briefing, and practical recovery exercise conducted this morning. |
Vessel: James Cook DTG: 210918 1000L Subj: Post refit Position: 26/27 Berth Empress Dock Course: N/A Sea: Harbour Conditions
Status: Crew changeover day. Handovers ongoing. Mobilisation JC-174 equipment completed.
Intentions: Load Lub Oil and Stores, secure vessel for sea.
Fuel ROB: 449MT |
Ships’ positions
This map shows the positions of the NOC operated vessels RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook. While every effort is made to keep this map up to date sometimes position updates are not possible.
Latest Expeditions
RRS James Cook
| Cruise | Principal scientist & institution | Location | Duration in days (begins) | Aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JC168 |
Aitken Hunter National Oceanography Centre |
Durban, South Africa | 32 days |
Refit RRS James Cook will dry dock in Amsterdam On July 12th and undertake her intermediate dry dock survey. During the docking her statutory Certification will be updated to include underwater condition of the vessel. Work will be undertaken on the fwd Azimuth blades to bring them back to the correct specification. The painting of the underwater areas on the hull will be completed and repaired as required. One of the ships main generator engines will be overhauled and the stock spares serviced ready for the next generator overhaul or in the event of any unforeseen circumstances used to overhaul any engine failures prior to planned work. The drives for the two aft thrusters will be upgraded to the same specification that the forward thrusters were upgraded to in 2017. The final works will be carried out on the DWC winch system and this set to work during the subsequent trials period. All other works planned are based on vessel defects and proposed modifications. |
RRS Discovery
| Cruise | Principal scientist & institution | Location | Duration in days (begins) | Aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DY091 |
Aitken Hunter National Oceanography Centre |
Cape Town, South Africa |
28 days |
Refit - 5 year special survey RRS Discovery will undertake her 5 Year Special Survey Dry Docking in Cape Town commencing 4th July. During this period all vessel statutory certification will be renewed allowing the vessel to continue operating for a further 5 years, subject to annual verifications. Outside of the machinery spaces the biggest job planned for the refit will be the addition of two new berths, bringing the vessel capacity up to 54 persons. This will be achieved by converting part of the current ships office into a cabin for the 3rd Officer, the existing 3rd Officers Cabin will be fitted with a Pullman berth and able to hold two persons. Construction drawings are currently being produced by our Naval Architects. One of the ships main generator engines will be overhauled and the stock spares serviced ready for the next generator overhaul or in the event of any unforeseen circumstances used to overhaul any engine failures prior to planned work. All four of the vessels thrusters will be opened for Class survey, the extent of which depends on the availability of seal arrangements to convert the three Wartsila thrusters to Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL’s), any wear fund ( the stbd aft thruster was opened for underwater inspection in February 2017 and none found) and the attending Class surveyor. All other works planned are based on vessel defects and proposed modifications. Due to refit location and possible seasonal climatic conditions certain planned tasks may or may not be done. Currently there is a severe drought in the Cape region of South Africa if this continues no work will be undertaken in FW tanks as the port is currently not supplying visiting vessels with fresh water and all vessel stocks will be required during and after the refit. If, as is the hope of those living in the area the seasonal rains do come then painting of the ship’s hull could be dropped from the planned worklist. The weather situation will be closely monitored and a decision made nearer the time on both topics. |
Previous and Upcoming Expeditions
Learn about the previous research expeditions that have been undertaken.
