Vessel of National Interest
The interdisciplinary and multipurpose marine research vessel ”MARE NIGRUM” is the central element of Romania’s marine research infrastructure, being unique at national level.
Due to its scientific facilities, ”Mare Nigrum” has a top position among the Black Sea research infrastructures. It was included by the Government Decision no.1428/2004 in the List of Special Installations and Objectives of national interest, remaining after a series of evaluations on the national list of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Importance (IOSIN).
R/V Mare Nigrum is also included in the list of Romanian Installations of Pan-European Interest. In regards to the involvement in the European Commission funded projects, the ship can be seen as having the status of a regional service ship in the Black Sea, being used in numerous European-funded research and monitoring projects.
Scientific equipment
IOSIN Mare Nigrum has a wide action range, being able to provide access to the entire Black Sea basin. Its technical facilities allow various research activities in the fields of marine geology and geophysics, marine biology and ecology.
Deck installations (cranes, A frame, specialized winches) and the large area of the main deck make the ship very versatile to accomodate any kind of requests from the beneficiaries. The modern research equipment in the ship’s structure (e.g. multibeam bathymetry, seismo-acoustics, magnetometry, gravimetry, greenhouse gas measurements, ROV, CTD, etc.) make it competitive at the international level.
Since 2004, Mare Nigrum has completed over 240 scientific expeditions in the Black Sea: exploration campaigns in the national waters of Romania – high resolution geophysical prospections (Seismic single channel, Multibeam, Side Sean Sonar) and geological surveys (geological sampling using gravity corer, multicorer, CTD, box corer), as well as exploration campaigns in the international waters (Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey).
Its main features are:
- Ship dimensions: L = 82 m, l = 13.6 m, h = 9.55 m, Power M.P. = 1×2200 hp;
- Work deck area: 1400 sqm;
- Surface for laboratories: 200 sqm;
- Load capacity of persons on board: maximum 50, 23 research staff, 27 sailing staff
The ship personnel supports to carry out equipment launch-recovery operations in maximum security conditions. The ship has all the necessary facilities to ensure life and safety at sea (SOLAS), as well as all the necessary facilities to protect the marine environment (according to MARPOL rules). The activity on board is carried out in accordance with the International Safety Management (ISM), the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code(ISPS) and the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Assurance System.
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