Cruise Planning

Overview

Welcome! This page of the Science Portal site is intended for the Chief Scientist(s) and those individuals helping in the cruise planning process. This page offers a brief overview of the key personnel at Schmidt Ocean Institute,  and aboard the R/V Falkor (too) with whom you will be interacting with.  At the bottom of this page there is a link to the Cruise Planning Timeline page which contains a schedule of the planning process, with links to all other information which will be required.

Prior to beginning cruise planning, please take the time to review and familiarize yourself with the contents of this site which provides information on Falkor (too), available equipment and our operation. This will greatly assist in the ensuing discussions. The following resources are on the Schmidt Ocean Institute main website .

Schmidt Ocean Institute is working with the understanding that the Chief Scientist and other cruise planners will be thoroughly familiar with all of the information presented on this site, and that all cruise participants (including the Chief Scientist and other planners) will have familiarized themselves with the information presented in the Participants section of the site.

The cruise planning will be summarized in the Cruise Support Plan, (curated by the Science Systems Senior Manager), and is a living document and, as such, it's critical that the Chief Scientists and other planners check in with this document regularly.

Using this site

We request that you:

• 1. Use the links directly above and the Ship and Equipment link at the top of the page to familiarize yourself with  FALKOR (too) and Schmidt Ocean Institute equipment.

  2. Use this page to identify the SOI and ship's staff you'll be interacting with during the planning process and to help identify the best place to direct your questions.  If in doubt, please contact the Science Systems Senior Manager and they will help get you to the right contact.

  3. Use the Cruise Planning Timeline page to identify cruise planning tasks that are required of you, and links to all of the associated information, forms and documents.

  4. Review the pages under the Cruise Planning menu, above, to familiarize yourself with SOI policies and planning information.

  5. Review the Participants section to learn about life on the ship and more about non-science aspects of your cruise.  Please ask all members of your science party to visit this section.

Each cruise will have an assigned:

• shoreside Science Systems Senior Manager

• shoreside Science Support Services Senior Manager

• shipboard Lead Technician

• shoreside Operations Associate

• shoreside Director of Communications and Engagement Strategy

• shoreside Research Portfolio Senior Manager

• shoreside Data Solution Architect 

Additionally, the Senior Director of Operations will assist with permitting and ship scheduling, as well as with program and cruise direction and funding.

The Science Systems Senior Manager, Stian Alesandrini, will be responsible for working closely with the Chief Scientist to ensure all scientific and technical elements of the cruise are identified and addressed before the science party arrives to the ship.

The Science Support Services Senior Manager, Errol Campbell, will work with you to prepare ROV SuBastian for the agreed upon science operational requirements.

The Lead Technician is responsible for working with Chief Scientist during the cruise to help ensure the cruise objectives are met, serves as the interface between science party and ship's crew, and leads daily science planning meetings aboard the ship.

The Operations Associate, Debra Cobain, is responsible for working closely with the Chief Scientist to ensure the administrative elements, including personnel, of the cruise planning are addressed in accordance with the timeline.

The Senior Director of Operations, Eric King, is responsible for all ship scheduling and permitting. He may be contacted by the Chief Scientist for assistance at any point during the cruise planning process, if necessary. Please contact him if you wish to request any changes to your science program or make any significant deviations from your proposal.

The Director of Communications and Engagement Strategy, Kristen Kusek, will work with the science party to set up an outreach program that will be carried out while the project is underway.

The Research Portfolio Senior Manager, Allison Miller, will work with the science party and represented institutions to produce a Joint Project Agreement, archive data and may be involved with permitting.

The Head of Data Solutions, Corrine Bassin, is the contact for you and your team, as needed, with data management and QA/QC support and oversight.  She will assist both the science party and the ship's marine technicians with the science systems embedded on the ship related to the data deliverables. 

Planning Unique to Schmidt Ocean Institute:

Falkor (too) does not have a home port and carries most of the science gear aboard.  Procedures for scheduling, planning, loading, provisioning, etc. are very different when a ship works in various coastal states waters or is on a multi-leg cruise.   Chief Scientists whose entire past experience has been on one-leg cruises and who expect to find an “empty ship” will find that it is critical to clearly outline their needs from the very beginning of the proposal process.  A member of the science party who has obtained time on one of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ship has not “rented the whole ship”, and there may be other items on the vessel pertaining to previous or subsequent trips.  Good planning and communications are essential.

Falkor (too) may not have the same facilities and capabilities as other vessel which which participants are familiar.  Please carefully review the vessel's equipment, facilities and operational abilities.  Note that laboratories and work spaces are provided empty and do not include laboratory equipment or consumables such as disposable gloves.  The science party is responsible for all shipping, agent and import/export arrangements and costs and must remove all materials, including hazardous waste, at the end of the cruise.

Falkor (too) may not have the load handling equipment needed to undertake your desired operations.  In this case, the science party must provide the necessary resources (requirements and instructions are on the Science Party Load Handling page of this website).  Details on what the ship has (and doesn't have) are listed here, part of the Science Equipment and Facilities document.  Of particular note, Falkor (too) doesn't have any medium duty winches or wires or a mooring winch and mooring blocks.

Please contact the Science Systems Senior Manager, Stian Alesandrini, with any questions as early as possible.  Requirements for major equipment or operations not usually supported are very difficult to accommodate if they weren't included in the original proposal.

If one's past experience has not included foreign clearance issues, one should be aware of clearance-driven scheduling and the limitations of a vessel conducting continuous cruises from foreign ports.

Ships have different flag states and classification societies who impose different regulations.  As such, Falkor (too) may have different requirements than other vessels and institutions.  In particular, please be aware of insurance and maritime safety training requirements.  These can be costly to arrange, take significant time and need to be started very early.

Cruises may include underway or "science of opportunity" operations assigned to the ship that are not directly related to your primary scientific objective.

Next Steps...

The Cruise Planning Timeline page contains a detailed cruise planning schedule with links to the forms that require completing and policies that need signing.