RV Robert Gordon Sproul, sometimes shortened to Sproul, is a research vessel operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet.[3] The ship is named after Robert Gordon Sproul, the first system-wide president of the University of California.
 RV Robert Gordon Sproul in Point Loma in 2024
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Robert Gordon Sproul |
| Namesake | Robert Gordon Sproul, first president of the University of California |
| Owner | Regents of the University of California[1] |
| Operator | Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego |
| Builder | Steiner Fabricators, Bayou La Batre, Alabama[2] |
| Launched | 1981 |
| Acquired | by SIO, 27 July 1984 |
| Renamed | 1984 from Midnight Alaskan[2] |
| Homeport | Point Loma, San Diego, California |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | UNOLS coastal/local research vessel[3] |
| Tonnage | 85 GT |
| Displacement | 696 long tons (707 t)[1] |
| Length | 125 ft (38.1 m)[1] |
| Beam | 32 ft 5 in (9.9 m)[1] |
| Draft | 9.5 ft (2.9 m)[1] |
| Decks | 3 |
| Propulsion | Dual fixed-pitch propellers 675 hp (503 kW) Detroit Diesel[1] |
| Speed | 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) |
| Range | 4,300 nmi (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 8.5 kn[1] |
| Endurance |
|
| Capacity | |
| Crew | 5 civilian mariners; 12 scientific party[1] |
Construction
editThe RV Sproul was constructed in Bayou La Batre, Alabama by Steiner Fabricators in 1981 under the name of Midnight Alaskan.[2] It was built using a modified gulf coast design for use by oil rig companies.
Acquisition by Scripps
editThe vessel was purchased by Scripps director William Nierenberg on July 27, 1984, as a replacement for the outgoing RV E. B. Scripps.[4] She was purchased from the chartering firm Midnight Boats, based in Louisiana, with SIO using the marine broker company Marcon International, Inc.[5] After being purchased, she was renamed after Robert Gordon Sproul and underwent a number of modifications for increased scientific research along the Coast of California and Gulf of California.
She departed Louisiana in August and embarked on her first scientific cruise to study seals near the Yucatán Peninsula, then traveling through the Panama Canal and docking in San Diego in October 1984.[4]
In 1991, then-captain Louis Zimm estimated the ship to be valuated at $3 million.[6]
Between September 2014 and December 2015, Sproul completed all operations using 100% biofuel.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "R/V Robert Gordon Sproul Specifications Scripps Institution of Oceanography". scripps.ucsd.edu.
- ^ a b c "Scripps Institution Acquires Another Research Vessel". No. 18. Maritime Reporter. September 15, 1984.
- ^ a b "UNOLS Designated Vessels". University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System.
- ^ a b Colgan, Chuck (27 July 1984). "SCRIPPS/UCSD PURCHASES NEW RESEARCH VESSEL" (PDF). UCSD News.
- ^ Haun, Eric (25 November 2015). "Scripps Sells Oceanographic Research Vessel". MarineLink. Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.
- ^ Brizzolara, John (27 November 1991). "A Scripps odyssey on the research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul | San Diego Reader". www.sandiegoreader.com. San Diego Reader.
- ^ Hook, Brittany (13 June 2016). "Ship voyages on 100 percent renewable biofuel for 1 year". University of California.