The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has announced that a new research vessel is joining its fleet.
The new ship, the R/V David Packard, is named after the late Silicon Valley billionaire and ocean philanthropist David Packard. It was built in Spain and made the voyage across the Atlantic starting on February 1, 2025.
The new vessel’s addition to the MBARI research fleet brings the number of vessels in fleet to three:
- R/V David Packard
- R/V Rachel Carson
- R/V Paragon
The new R/V David Packard is 62% larger than the previous MBARI flagship research vessel, the R/V Western Flyer. Features of the new R/V David Packard include:
- Length: 50 meters (164 feet)
- Width: 12.8 meters (42 feet)
- Spacious accommodation for up to 12 crew members and 18 scientists
- Capable of conducting voyages up to 10 days offshore of California
- The R/V David Packard can also support extended expeditions across the Northeastern Pacific Ocean
- The R/V David Packard can launch and recover a wide range of MBARI autonomous technologies.
- The Vessel offers greater ability to study climate change and marine threats across the West Coast, from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California
Commenting on the new ship, Kaya Johnson, the Director of Marine Operations, stated:
“The David Packard is an exciting addition to MBARI’s fleet of research vessels and an essential tool for ocean exploration. The ship will not only support advanced technology developed by the MBARI team but also promote collaboration across the marine science and technology community. Together, it’s all hands-on deck to understand our changing ocean.”
You can check out a video oo the new vessel below.
