CCG's New Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel Begins Sea Trials
CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, the Canadian Coast Guardās (CCG) new Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV), began sea trials this week in North Vancouver, sailing from Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards where final outfitting, installation, and commissioning work has been taking place since the vesselās launch in August 2024.CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is a Polar Class 6 vessel, with a displacement of 5,058t, and is 88 meters long, 17.6 meters wide, and will accommodate up to 60 personnel.Sea trials mark the final major phase of a shipbuilding project before delivery.
Freire Shipyard Inks Deal to Build Oceanographic Research Vessel
Freire Shipyard signed a contract with IFREMER - the French national institute for ocean science - for the construction of a new 40.3-m vessel for the French oceanographic fleet. It will be designed to deal with all disciplines of oceanography in Atlantic coastal areas: geosciences and paleoclimatology, physical oceanography and biogeochemistry, biological oceanography, and ecosystem functioning, from the coastline to the continental shelf. It will also perform duties related to fishery on the continental shelf and will accommodate a crew of 12 people and 10 scientistsā¦
SCIENCE: Seafloor Microplastic Hotspots Controlled by Deep-sea Currents
New research has revealed the highest levels of microplastic yet recorded on the seafloor, with up to 1.9 million pieces in an area of just one square metre.Published this week in the journal Science, this study shows how deep-sea currents act as conveyor belts, transporting tiny plastic fragments and fibers across the seafloor. These currents can concentrate microplastics within huge sediment accumulations, which the authors of the research term āmicroplastic hotspotsā. Theseā¦
