RV Rachel Carson (2003)

For other ships with the same name, see RV Rachel Carson.

R/V Rachel Carson is a research vessel owned and operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), named in honor of the marine biologist and writer, Rachel Carson.

History
United States
Name	R/V Rachel Carson
Namesake	Rachel Carson
Launched	2003[1]
Identification	IMO number: 8983210 Call sign: WDF9370 MMSI number: 338415000[1]
Status	Active
General characteristics [2]
Type	Oceanographic Research Vessel
Tonnage	430 GT
Length	135 ft (41 m)
Beam	34 ft (10 m)
Draft	9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power	2 × 150 kW (200 hp) Northern Lights generators
Propulsion	2 × 787 hp (587 kW) Caterpillar 3412 diesel engines 1 × 384 hp (286 kW) Caterpillar 3126 bow thruster
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Range	15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)

Ship history

The ship was built in 2003 as an offshore supply and towing vessel, and was first operated by Lytal Enterprises Inc. as the Lytal Team.^[1] After Lytal was acquired by Odyssea Marine Inc. In January 2006^[3] she was renamed Odyssea Team.^[1]

The ship was acquired by MBARI in mid-2011 to replace the research vessels Zephyr and Point Lobos, and outfitted to operate ROVs and AUVs, and to conduct CTD sampling.^[4]