In November 2021, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor made its final voyage across the Atlantic, marking the end of an era for the Institute. Over the course of 10 years and 81 expeditions, the vessel welcomed on board 1,056 scientists, 340 students, and 44 artists from 32 countries. During this time the sturdy vessel traveled more than 13 times around the world, discovering 15 new seafloor features, over 50 new species, and mapping over 1.3 million square kilometers. But as the ship’s name—after a character in The Neverending Story—would suggest, the Schmidt Ocean Institute story was simply entering a new chapter.
Our recently acquired 110 meter global-class research vessel, Falkor (too) will continue to provide philanthropic support for ocean research and marine technology development as a state-of-the art facility offered at no cost to scientists around the world. The new ship will take to the sea by the end of this year, guided by Schmidt Ocean Institute’s strategy to boldly explore the unknown ocean, focusing on seven science topics that provide the underpinning knowledge that will lead to additional decades of scientific discovery, allowing the world to better interact, manage and care for this ecosystem.
Schmidt Ocean Institute, founded in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, began its exploration of the seas with R/V Lone Ranger, the precursor to R/V Falkor. The model of offering a research vessel of such capabilities at no cost to scientists was new in the early 2010s, and the organization spent the last decade building an extensive portfolio of discoveries and scientific accomplishments in collaboration with the global scientific community. In 2021, the Institute acquired the M/V Polar Queen and began its metamorphosis from an offshore industry vessel to a scientific research vessel. Built in 2011 and used most recently to service wind farms near Europe—the newly named Falkor (too) is 30 meters longer, and 30 years younger than the original Falkor.
The First Year
While continuing to operate Falkor, which transited east across the Pacific from Australia, making its way to Europe, work began on Falkor (too) at Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain. We let our imaginations take over to visualize a future research vessel and what it could offer to the scientific community - a vessel that already carried a gargantuan 150-ton crane, two moonpools, multiple launch-and-recovery systems, and incredible dynamic positioning systems. Using this fabulous structure, and weaving the input of our founders, advisory board, scientists and crew over the past 10 years, our team transformed the dreams into a new reality for ocean exploration.
(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
With a new layout of all seven decks in hand, work began to remove 20 cabins, making way for a 105 square meter main laboratory in addition to a wet lab, dirty wet lab, hydro lab, cold lab, seawater lab, computer/electronics lab, robotics lab, and a mission control room for ROV SuBastian, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s 4,500 meter depth-capable underwater robotic vehicle. Even with the removal of the cabins, Falkor (too) still retained 98 berths, including up to 45 for scientists and students and an additional 10 for artists, multimedia correspondents, and other participants, and 960 square meters of aft deck space for truly dynamic, inclusive and interdisciplinary ocean research and exploration.
At the end of 2021, the size of the new vessel became evident when, for a brief moment, the two vessels were docked side-by-side as equipment was transferred from Falkor to Falkor (too). ROV SuBastian was removed and taken into a warehouse for its first complete overhaul—stripping it to its skeleton and cleaning components to remove the wear-and-tear brought about by 2,410 hours of operations in-water since 2015. After the cross-decking, Falkor sailed to Italy and was donated in March 2022 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to the Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerche to continue her life as a research vessel in the Mediterranean and join the European Fleet.
And The Transformation Begins
A substantial refit and the addition of scientific capabilities inevitably requires drydocking — a process that has been going on for thousands of years and entails sailing a ship into an enclosed berth and draining the water so that the vessel rests on wooden support blocks that allow work to take place under the hull. This stage proved to be a colossal engineering feat in itself because of the many obstacles at the bottom of Falkor (too)’s hull - making the placement of supporting blocks an incredible challenge. Aside from the moonpools, block placement needed to take into consideration the drop down azimuthing bow thruster, navigation sonars, and two pole-mounted through-hull transceivers used for precision ship positioning and multiple robotic vehicle tracking. Unusually large spaces were needed between the blocks for new equipment including the gondola which houses the scientific sonars, an omni-directional drop-keel sonar, and underwater hydrophones.
(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
The 19-meter long, 32-ton gondola, welded to the bottom of the ship, holds Kongsberg echosounders EM 2040, EM 712, and EM 124 and provides Falkor (too) with the equipment it needs for high-resolution complete ocean depth mapping. In July 2022, at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, our partner the Nippon-Foundation GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project announced that a high-resolution map of 23.4% of the seafloor was now available, which is a huge leap forward compared to the 6% that was available only five years ago. However, that still leaves almost three-quarters of the seafloor as a mystery, and an unknown number of seamounts and countless seafloor features yet to be discovered. With the new gondola and instruments on Falkor (too), we will continue to contribute high-quality seafloor bathymetric data towards the creation of this global map.
The hull also houses the world’s largest Voith Schneider Propeller systems, a pair of state-of-the art propulsion devices that will allow Falkor (too) to turn on a dime, nearly literally, and keep it steady in stormy seas. The propellers are designed for fuel efficiency—part of this young vessel’s overall high standard for clean design, which includes a toxin-free red color coating of the entire hull to reduce biofouling over the next 10 years.
(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Within the vessel itself, over a hundred scientific sensors, computers, monitors, and control systems will be linked by 200 kilometers of AV/IT cables - the flow of information to those who live and work on board is an important priority and the transformation of this ship into a highly networked platform ensures efficient communications and data delivery. Cutting-edge technology fits neatly into one of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s goals for the next decade— in addition to continuing to provide free access for scientists to our High Performance Computing system, using new technologies such as the latest in satellite supported internet connectivity, sophisticated sensors, machine learning and artificial intelligence will make research more effective.
Connecting the science taking place at sea with audiences around the world is another priority for Schmidt Ocean Institute. Several facilities within Falkor (too) have been added to accomplish this including a specialized outreach office equipped with a sound-proofed, green screen studio for quiet and professional interviews with experts on board. A dedicated multimedia desk and viewing gallery in the mission control room is another addition, as well as a new setup for our ship-to-shore program, which has reached more than 117,500 students in the past five years on Falkor. With additional berth space, our Artist-at-Sea program will expand to include more artists, allowing for new and cross-collaborative works.
The Future Holds…
As we grow into this bigger vessel, its capabilities will also allow us to expand our reach. Falkor (too) is rated for up to 15 cm of ice, providing a platform for scientists conducting research at higher latitudes. The giant crane will allow equipment to be deployed to the sea floor on a cable up to 2,900 meters long, letting scientists precisely target landing sites in the abyssal plains. And with the large aft deck and a helipad there is room for additional uncrewed vehicles that can be added to complement the on-site underwater operations with a larger horizontal sea surface and aerial footprint.
(Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)
Falkor (too) will not only be a state-of-the-art research facility, but also a gathering space for the marine science community. Schmidt Ocean Institute's strategy is global but recognizes the importance of addressing inclusivity, science and exploration at the local level, and will focus each year on a specific region. Plans are underway to ensure local scientists will have opportunities to lead expeditions, and local students and artists will have programs made available to sail on Falkor (too), including partnerships with the National Geographic Society and the Marine Technology Society - IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society. Financial support for scientists with dependents will continue to be made available to allow them the flexibility to go out to sea, and grants for equipment needed by local communities and schools will be available to allow them to follow the expeditions and to discover what lies within their own ocean waters.
We are looking forward to boldly exploring our unknown ocean over the next decade, and continuing Schmidt Ocean Institute’s legacy of research in the deep that has led to the discovery and characterization of new hydrothermal vent fields and unusual life forms. If ever there was a time for this next chapter, it’s now.
To follow Falkor (too)’s refit in more detail, you can watch the video series “Making of a Research Ship” on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s YouTube channel and sign up for Schmidt Ocean Institute's new quarterly newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/schmidtocean.org/neverendingnewsletter_chapter_one_summer_2022.
This feature appeared in Environment, Coastal & Offshore (ECO) Magazine's 2022 Autumn edition, to read more access the magazine here.
