The JOIDES Resolution (known as "
The Rez") started life in 1978 as a
deep ocean
oil drilling rig named, euphoniously the
Secdo/BP 471. In
1985, after an extensive conversion in
Pascagoula, Mississippi, the ship was
re-christened as the
Resolution to begin a course of
oceanographic research,
under the auspices of the Ocean Drilling Program
1 at Texas A & M
University
2, that continued through the millennium. The Rez is the latest in a long line of scientific research vessels beginning with
HMS Challenger, a British vessel commanded by
Captain James Cook in the 1800's that extensively explored the
Pacific Ocean
and the
Antarctic.
The Rez is about 470 feet long (143m) with a large
helipad covering the stern and a drill tower that stands over 200 feet (61m)
above the water. The drill rig's capacity is over a million pounds,
translating into a potential drilling depth of over 30,000 feet (9150m) in
waters as deep as 27,000 feet (8200m). The rig can suspend as much as 9,150 m (30,020 ft) of drill pipe to an ocean
depth as great as 8,235 m (27,018 ft).
The scientific drilling performed with this ship proceeds around the clock
once the Rez is on location, assisted by an international crew of scientists,
marine technicians, drillers, marine crew, cooks and housekeeping
folk. Life onboard is like living in a small, very strange
town.
1 The Ocean Drilling Program Website:
http://www-odp.tamu.edu/
2 Texas A& M website: http://www.tamu.edu/