JOIDES RESOLUTION research drilling ship

[aukepalmhof]

French Southern and Antarctic Territories issued 3 stamps in 2019 which shows us sediment sampling off the coast of the Kerguelen Islands by the drilling ship JOIDES RESOLUTION.
Built under yard no 68 as a drilling ship by the shipyard Hawker Siddeley at Halfax, N,S for the Overseas Drilling Ltd. Monrovia, Liberia.
December 1975 laid down.
07 April 1977 launched as SEDCO/BP 471.
Tonnage when built: 7,538 grt, 5,500 dwt, dim. 143.3 x 21.7 x 9.75m, length bpp 133.5m.
Powered by seven Diesel locomotive engine/generators. 16 cylinders each. Five engines @ 3,000 HP and two at 2,200 hp. They supply electricity to not only the entire ship but also to two propeller shafts driven by twelve 750 hp DC motors, six each per shaft 4,500 hp per shaft for a total of 9,000 hp. Twin screws, speed 14 knots. Bunker capacity 3,730 m³, daily consumption about 40 tons.
10 February 1987 completed. Liberian flag and registry.

1984 Refitted in a drilling research ship by owners at Pascagoula, Miss.
Tonnage 10,282 grt, 3,084 net, 8,233 dwt, dim 143.3 x 21,34 x 9.75m.
Renamed in JOIDES RESOLUTION.

The riser-less research vessel JOIDES RESOLUTION (Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling), often referred to as the JR, is one of the scientific drilling ships used by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), an international, multi-drilling platform research program. The JR was previously the main research ship used during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) and was used along with the Japanese drilling vessel CHIKYU and other mission-specific drilling platforms throughout the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. She is the successor of GLOMAR CHALLENGER.
The ship was first launched in 1978 as SEDCO/BP 471, an oil exploration vessel. She was converted for scientific use in 1984 and began working as the main research ship for ODP in January 1985. The JR was modernized during 2007–2008 and returned to active service in February 2009 following an extensive renovation of her laboratory facilities and quarters.
Texas A&M University (TAMU) acts as manager and science operator of the JR as a research facility for IODP. The JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (JRSO) is funded through a cooperative agreement with the US National Science Foundation (NSF), with international contributions from 23 Program member countries.
The scientific research vessel JOIDES RESOLUTION began operations in 1978 as the Sedco/BP 471, originally an oil exploration vessel. In January 1985, after being converted for scientific research, the vessel began working for the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). Drilling with ODP continued until September 2003, at which point the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) began. IODP is a multi-drilling platform research program. The JOIDES RESOLUTION conducted IODP operations in 2004–2005 with the same capabilities as during ODP. It was modernized during 2007–2008 and resumed operations as IODP’s riserless vessel in 2009, along with the riser vessel CHIKYU operated by Japan, and mission-specific platforms operated by the European consortium ECORD. The JOIDES RESOLUTION is owned by Overseas Drilling Limited, a subsidiary of Siem Offshore AS.

The vessel is named for the HMS RESOLUTION, which explored the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and the Antarctic region under the command of Captain James Cook over 200 years ago. Like its namesake, the purpose of the current RESOLUTION is to sail for scientific exploration. But this time, those discoveries lie deep beneath the oceans.
During normal operations, work aboard the ship never ceases as drilling and science activities continue 24 hours a day. A typical ship’s complement consists of up to 60 scientists and technicians and 70 crew members.
https://iodp.tamu.edu/publicinfo/ship_stats.html

Fitted with a derrick standing 62 m (205 ft) above the water line, the 143 m (469 ft) long research vessel is 21 m (69 ft) wide. When the JOIDES RESOLUTION reaches the drilling site, the crew positions the vessel over the site using 12 computer-controlled thrusters as well as a main propulsion system. The rig suspends up to 9,150 m (30,020 ft) of drill pipe to an ocean depth as great as 8,235 m (27,018 ft). This is about the equivalent of six miles!
Near the center of the research vessel is the “moon pool,” a 7m (23 ft) wide hole, through which the drillstring is lowered into the ocean. Each piece of pipe is about 28m (93 ft) and weighs about 874 kg (1925 lb—just a tad more than a draft horse).
The drill crew uses the draw works to thread each pipe to the drill string. The process of lowering the drill bit, which is affixed to the end of the drillstring, takes about 12 hours in 5,500 m (18,045 ft) of water. To core through the seafloor, the crew uses a motorized system to rotate the entire drill string. The thrusters on the ship keep the massive vessel itself from rotating.
This scientific drilling process recurs on several sites during each JOIDES RESOLUTION expedition. Six miles of pipe are positioned in the ocean, and dropped from the deck of the ship. The drillstring and drill bit are rotated, with thrusters keeping the vessel in place so only the drill moves. This ocean drilling operation is a significant engineering feat in itself. But the drilling sample story and research done in the vessel’s labs are even more amazing.

The ship has a “lab stack” where laboratories are organized on seven floors with over 12,000 sq ft of space. (School auditoriums are about 15,000 sq ft.)
The drillship was built in 1978 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as a conventional oil drilling vessel. Then named Sedco/BP 471, she was refitted in Pascagoula, Mississippi during the fall of 1984 to accommodate the laboratory stack levels and other scientific facilities and equipment necessary for carrying out the program’s objectives. When drilling operations began in January 1985, the ship was informally christened JOIDES Resolution after Captain James Cook’s flagship of two centuries ago, HMS RESOLUTION. She now officially carries the name JOIDES RESOLUTION.
Measuring 144 meters (470 feet) long and 21 m (70 feet) wide, her derrick rises 66 m (215 feet) above the waterline and can support 1 million pounds of weight. The ship maintains location, even in heavy seas, by means of 12 computer-controlled thrusters, which are part of her dynamic-positioning system. She can drill in water depths to 8800 m (29,000 ft). In contrast to standard petroleum practice, drilling is done in riser-less mode; therefore, extreme caution is exercised at all times in avoiding significant hydrocarbon accumulations.

From June 2019 owned by ODL and managed by Siem Offshore AS, Kristiansand S, Norway. Under Cyprus flag and registry. Same name and still chartered by Ocean Drilling Program for the next three years.
Imo No 7483081.

https://joidesresolution.org/jr-vessel-tour/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOIDES_Resolution
French Southern and Antarctic Territories 2019 0.95/2.70E sg?, Scott 611b.