The Melville/Knorr Refit And Modernization: Capabilities For Science In The 1990's And Beyond

The oceanographic research vessels RIV Melville and RIV Knorr were built in 1969, and although they have proved to be effective research platforms by demonstrating outstanding support to science, numerous problems have plagued and frustrated their operators and scientists. Consequently, repowering and modification studies were undertaken to redress the drawbacks of these ships. In addition, enhancements to their scientific capabilities were defined and incorporated into the project and a shipyard contract was awarded in February 1989 for their lengthening, refit and modernization. The desired capabilities for the modified vessels are significantly beyond those of the existing ships. This paper describes how these attributes were engineered into the refit. Habitability, laboratory and work spaces, storage capacities, speed and endurance, stationkeeping, maneuvering, and acoustic support improvements are discussed.