The oceanographic ship

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For years it has been a mustache traditional food on the coming Christmas days, but today it is very difficult to find a mustache in our waters. If necessary, the situation would have been different if the biology of the fishing industry had been taken into account. The ship Miguel Oliver, which we will see in the next report, is dedicated precisely to this: investigating the sea and the living things inside it. We had the opportunity to see inside. And, among other things, we have seen that it also has Basque

technology. ENEKO IMAZ AMIANO; ELHUYAR FOUNDATION: We are in the port of Vigo, and what I have behind me is the oceanographic ship Miguel Oliver. You could say that this ship is a floating laboratory for marine research. It has radar, probes, laboratories, etc.

Jerónimo Hernández is a member of the General Secretariat of the Sea of Spain. He will be our guide in Miguel Oliver. The ship is 70 meters long and 41 wide and has a capacity for 45 people, taking into account the crew and researchers. The large size of the bridge surprised us immediately after entering.

JERÓNIMO HERNÁNDEZ; GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE SEA: This is the bridge of the government, wide, with more than 120 m2. If you allow me, I’ll take you to the captain
Luis Gago (...). As you can see, here we have different consoles; this is the main one, the navigation, with the western teams and more areas, as is the automatic position, the control of the machinery, radars and everything.” “Luego, in the port area, is the communication console, which is also the system of the interconnection of the management system, the management of the remote control, the management of the IDF equipment, and the management of the IDF equipment.”

This is the bridge of command, a wide bridge of more than 120 m2. If you want, I will introduce you to the captain, he is
Luis Gago (...) We have several consoles here; that is, the main one, has navigation tools and others such as automatic positioning or radar control.
Turning to

Babor, Jeronimo shows us the communications console. There is the internal emergency system, but also the system called INGERAS Fleet. The

team, called INGERAS Fleet, brings together advanced computer and telecommunications services through different tools and applications and is aimed at the maritime sector. This system controls all areas of the ship: it controls all the electronics and computers; it manages the logistics and fleet of maritime transport; it receives and sends remote data such as messages and/or meteorological data; and finally, the system, by satellite, allows the use of maintenance and support services. For example, if INGERAS Fleet finds a fault in any equipment on board, it provides an alarm signal both on board and at the

INGETEAM company that produced the system at its headquarters in Zamudio. The alarm arrives by satellite and INGETEAM technicians can solve the error by satellite without having to go to the ship. If necessary, they can stop the ship, wherever it is, from Zamudio and even start it, with the approval of those responsible for

the ship. Going to Txopa, we find two consoles used in scientific sampling. On the

one hand, the fishing gear is controlled. On the other hand, marine sampling machines and cranes operating in the starboard area. There

is also the dynamic positioning system.

JERÓNIMO HERNÁNDEZ; GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE SEA: For example, if you want to know the composition of the water at different points of time, you can use the dynamic position, click on the boat at a fixed position and, at that position, you can use a rosette to capture water samples.

For example, if it is desired to know the composition of the water at certain depths at a certain point, with the dynamic positioning system, place the vessel fixedly, and in this position, launch the instrument to collect samples at different depths.

ENEKO IMAZ AMIANO; ELHUYAR FOUNDATION: all of them once?

JERÓNIMO HERNÁNDEZ; GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE SEA: No, it's just that there's an electric cable that pulls and pulls you to the deep end that you want. There is an electrical cable: press the button to the desired depth and open the sample jars. We go back
to the main console

and finish the route on the bridge of command. But... is it common to have such a large bridge?JERÓNIMO HERNÁNDEZ;

GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE SEA: It's a huge... Let's say when you're doing a long or heavy investigation, aside from the office staff, you're also going to be 2-3 scientists. So you've got to have plans... (...) There is no excuse, it is holgado; there is space for poner computer accessories; and it is the way of working.

It's great, but in the studies, in addition to the officers, there are 2 or 3 scientists here. Therefore, space is needed for the layout of plans, computers, etc. There is no rush, there is plenty of space and it is comfortable for work.

However, the amenities do not end at the bridge. There is nothing missing on board: rooms, kitchen, dining room, library, living rooms. As

for the work areas, it has a wet and dry laboratory; chemistry and biology laboratories; and a computer room and an acoustics laboratory. In the latter, they have radars and probes to investigate marine biology and bottom geology. probes can also be sampled at depths of up to 7,000

meters. When they need it, Miguel Oliver can act like a traditional fishing boat. As the fish arrive, they are classified and processed, always according to the objectives of each research session. While Jerónimo has

shown us the interior of the boat, we have been sailing in the estuary of Vigo. The Cies Islands must be left behind and one of the ship's main equipment, the submarine study robot, must be put to work. They need to do a training session. The

robot can be submerged up to 650 meters. It has a mechanical sampling arm, two chambers and sonar and communicates with the container through a cable. It receives the electrical power required by the motors and tools from the cable. Driving is also done through it, as well as receiving images sent by the submarine.

The images and data sent by the submarine are collected on various monitors. And the images, in turn, are used to guide the robot’s movements from the ship. You

have to be born to drive the robot, especially when the sea is alive or in places with a strong tide. This time, Mari is training her second officer, José Morrazo. But in addition to the great skill of the crew and the investigators, it is absolutely necessary that, in order to carry out the investigations, the navigation of the ship is very quiet. In other words, the sound and vibrations transmitted by the vessel to the water must be negligible so as not to interfere with the fauna and interfere with the research equipment. Moreover, the International Council for Marine Research (ICES) has



a fixed maximum noise level that can be emitted

into the water. Studies that exceed this level are unlikely to be accepted internationally. When

INGETEAM began to participate in the construction of the ship, one of the first tasks was to analyze the adaptations to be made in the propulsion, converters and engines to comply with the regulations of the ICES. Thus, one of the adaptations made in

Miguel Oliver was the installation of diesel-electric propulsion. In conventional

diesel propulsion, the propeller is driven by the engine running on diesel. On this oceanographic ship, however, the two motors that drive the propeller are electric, that is, they are powered by electricity. Therefore, it is necessary to install generators and alternators to generate electricity. This

propulsion system adds to the performance of the engines and reduces both consumption and gas emissions and, above all, significantly reduces the noise of the

ship. Likewise, the generator sets are placed on the double bed. The elastic feet absorb the vibrations so that they do not reach the structure of the container and consequently also the water. All this allows the noise and tremors of the ship to be below the limit established by ICES. But, let’s go back to the ship’s back, where



Mari Jose is finishing her training work with the submersible robot. The robot has been shipped; we have cleaned, collected all things and taken the road to Vigo to end

the day. Already more relaxed, Jerónimo tells us about Miguel Oliver’s plans in the coming months. It will

go to the waters of Panama, Peru and Ecuador, in collaboration with their governments to investigate the seabed and fishing. They will also investigate the underwater cliffs of Patagonia to investigate vulnerable ecosystems and, accordingly, to conduct conservation and zoning of fisheries areas.