RV Le Suroît
French research vessel, built 1975
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RV Le Suroît is a French research vessel operated by IFREMER.[3] In 1985, it was involved in the successful Franco-American expedition to find the wreck of the RMS Titanic.[4][5]
Le Suroît docked in Concarneau in 2007 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | RV Le Suroît |
| Owner | IFREMER |
| Operator | Genavir[1] |
| Builder | Ateliers et Chantiers de la Manche, Dieppe[2] |
| Launched | 20 July 1974 |
| Refit | 1999 |
| Home port | Brest[2] |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Active in service |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| Type | Research vessel |
| Tonnage | 946 GT |
| Displacement | 1,132 long tons |
| Length | 56.34 m (184.8 ft) |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft) |
| Draught | 4.10 m (13.5 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 16–23 |
Since being refurbished in 1999, the vessel is able to undertake bathymetric and seismic research, as well as coring, dredging, and trawling tasks.[3]
History
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The vessel was commissioned and built in 1975 by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Manche in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime.[6] In 1985, the ship was equipped with the new System Acoustique Remorqué (SAR) sonar device. In early summer, the vessel undertook a 10-day sonar mission[7] in an attempt to find the wreckage of RMS Titanic.[4] Aboard Le Suroît on this mission was Robert Ballard. Le Suroît was able to rule out large sections of a pre-determined 150-square-mile (390 km2) search area – between 26 July and 6 August, 80% of the area had been searched.[8] It later transpired that on one of its first passes, Le Suroît had come within only 3,300 feet (1,000 m) of Titanic.[9] The mission ended on 6 August,[5] after which RV Knorr travelled from the Azores to concentrate on more specific areas using different strategies.[4]
In October 2011, the vessel was on assignment in Crete[10] before travelling to La Seyne-sur-Mer in December.[2]
Facilities and equipment
The vessel is equipped with a range of devices. The computers run IFREMER's CARAIBES mapping software.[1] The coring cable is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long and is made of Kevlar. It has a safe working load (SWL) of 8 tons.[1] The ship also has a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) steel winch, with an SWL of 2.1 tons. The average cruising speed, and the speed at which surveying is undertaken, is approximately 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[11]
