RV Oceanus


RV Oceanus is a research vessel owned by the National Science Foundation, based in Newport, Oregon, and maintained and operated by Oregon State University. The ship was originally delivered to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for operation as a part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System fleet in November, 1975. Oceanus made her first operational cruise in April, 1976 and operated under WHOI for thirty-six years in the Atlantic with some operations in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. The ship was scheduled to be retired in November 2011 but instead was transferred to Oregon State University, , for operation, replacing her sister ship, R/V Wecoma.
On January 25, 2012 the ship began transit to Newport, Oregon and the Hatfield Marine Science Center for operation by Oregon State University. Oceanus and arrived in Newport, Oregon on February 21, 2012 before the March retirement of her sister ship the RV Wecoma. The Oceanus was an interim replacement during the period while OSU began the design and construction of three new , the first of which is expected to be launched in 2020 and operated by OSU under the name RCRV Taani. Oceanus' tenure at OSU is expected to last no more than ten years, at which time the new RCRVs will be online.
Oceanus was built by Peterson Builders of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to a design by John W. Gilbert Associates, Boston, completed 1975 with a mid-life refit in 1994. The ship is 177 feet in length by 33 feet beam and 17.5 feet draft powered by a single EMD diesel engine of 3,000 SHP for a cruising speed of 11 knots with a 7,000 nautical mile range. She carries a crew of 12 with capacity for up to 19 project personnel with 1,185 square feet of laboratory space.
She was described by WHOI as "the North Atlantic workhorse of the WHOI-UNOLS fleet" used extensively in Gulf Stream and ocean circulation systems.