The U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) supports research, infrastructure and education on all aspects of the global ocean.
OCE-funded researchers can request time on research vessels to explore marine environments, collect new information and bring back samples.
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Guidance for proposals with ship time
If your proposal includes a request to support research ship time, you must use the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Science & Marine Equipment (SME) request form.
The form identifies projects that require research vessel support, allows OCE to plan for vessel usage and helps ship operators and program managers prepare for ship schedules and cruise logistics.
Please allow for sufficient lead time between form submission and the expedition itself. For research requesting Global Class or Ocean Class U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF) vessels, especially those needing National Deep Submergence Facility assets, your proposal and request for ship time should be submitted at least 18 months before you anticipate starting your first expedition. For Intermediate, Regional and Local Class vessels, we recommend requesting ship time at least 12 months before the anticipated first cruise.
Outside of extraordinary circumstances, ship time will not be scheduled within 12-months of your request. Most ship schedules are finalized by September of the previous year. There are exceptions for highly meritorious NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) proposals; these are handled on a case-by-case basis by program officers in tandem with the ship operator and the principal investigator.
Once you have defined the scientific scope of your research, you should carefully and realistically plan your cruise by considering your expedition's technological and logistical requirements. Then, you can request a specific ship and the amount of ship time accordingly. To learn about potential scheduling opportunities, you can contact ship operating institutions or the UNOLS office and log in to the UNOLS scheduling website. Remember to include a copy of your ship time request as a supplementary document in your proposal.
You must update your funding status (i.e., funded, pending or declined) in the Marine Facilities Planning system. Due to restrictions regarding Controlled Unclassified Information, NSF cannot provide proposal status updates to UNOLS.
We encourage you to engage with your NSF program officer, ship operators and the UNOLS office as soon as possible, especially if your project is logistically complex and carries a significant cost.
Forms relevant to OCE facilities and activities
OCE supports facilities for federally funded investigators and educators.
These templates will help you submit proposals that require ship operations or oceanographic technical support and instrumentation. The templates also provide guidance on how to use other vessels.
- Ship Operations Format & Tables (MS-Excel)
- (Coming soon.) Oceanographic Technical Services Format & Tables (MS-Excel) and Example (Adobe Acrobat)
- Oceanographic Instrumentation Template (MS-Excel) and Example (Adobe Acrobat)
- Shipboard Scientific Equipment Template (MS-Excel) and Example (Adobe Acrobat)
Published April 2018.
Division of Ocean Sciences Integrative Programs Section
Many federally funded research projects use vessels other than those operated as part of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF), defined as those vessels participating in UNOLS. This document describes the existing OCE guidelines with regard to the use of these non-ARF vessels for research funded by NSF.
Safety of personnel
The safety of all parties involved in NSF-funded field work is of paramount importance. However, as stated in Cooperative Agreements-Financial and Administrative Terms (CA-FATC) Article 44 and in Research Terms and Conditions (RTC) Article 29:
"NSF cannot assume any liability for accidents, illnesses or claims arising out of any work supported by an award or for unauthorized use of patented or copyrighted materials. The grantee institution is advised to take such steps as may be deemed necessary to insure or protect itself, its employees and its property."
Chapter 18 of the UNOLS Research Vessel Safety Standards (RVSS) outlines the appropriate steps required by UNOLS operating institutions and recommended for all other institutions to ensure minimum safety standards are documented for non-ARF vessels. This guidance also includes a checklist (Appendix D) for minimum vessel safety specifications. Charting institutions may have guidelines in place that meet or exceed the RVSS, where an established mechanism is in place that ensures adequate review.
Guidelines for UNOLS operating institutions
Institutions operating ARF vessels are required by their individual cooperative agreements with NSF to adhere to the RVSS. The RVSS states:
"When a UNOLS institution charters a vessel for research or education that is not operated by UNOLS or their home institution, the procedures of this chapter must be followed. The Principal Investigator, their respective institution's Business, Risk Management, and/or General Counsel’s office and the institution's Marine Operations office all have a responsibility to ensure that only vessels that are safe and suitable for a project are chartered."
The chartering institution or their qualified representative must verify that the chartered vessel follows all applicable local, federal and international regulations. Chapter 18 of the RVSS provides information on pre-charter, charter and post-charter requirements.
Guidelines for all other institutions
While non-UNOLS operating institutions lack a NSF cooperative agreement which would require adherence to the RVSS, it is at the funding NSF program's discretion to require the same due diligence be performed for any sea-going charters. Therefore, OCE strongly encourages all awardees to follow the RVSS guidelines when chartering vessels for oceanographic research to protect themselves, their property and most importantly their employees and other personnel. If knowledgeable marine operations staff are not available within an institution, NSF encourages the use of contracted resources (similar to the NSF Ship Inspection Program) to ensure a vessel is in compliance with the RVSS.
Program costs and scheduling
For additional costs to OCE programs beyond vessel charter rates (e.g., equipment and personnel) that are generally required to support funded science, you must describe the extent of logistical support required to conduct a given field project fully and as early in the proposal process as possible. Even in cases where ship time is provided at "no cost" to NSF, or when the charter costs of non-ARF vessels are budgeted in science proposals, it is imperative to identify all additional facility and personnel support requirements, since the cost for this support may be borne by a variety of programs within OCE.
UNOLS provides a mechanism to coordinate and schedule oceanographic work through its Ship Time Request and Scheduling (STRS) system. This system should be used by all investigators to enter the name of the proposed charter vessel, whether in ARF or not. Investigators wishing to use any of the pooled assets (e.g., vans, cables and winches), technical support or ancillary facilities supported by NSF (e.g., ROV, AUV, etc.) must also use the STR system to convey their proposed requirements to the relevant NSF program(s) and to the facility operators. Failure to properly coordinate and communicate requirements through the STRS system may result being denied permission to use NSF-supported resources.
Written justification for use of facility assets should also be provided to the appropriate NSF program officer responsible for oversight of the facility. At a minimum, the STRS itself, or the information normally provided in the system, should be provided to the NSF facility program officer. This information must include:
- Funding agency.
- Award number.
- Vessel name.
- Principal investigator.
- Dates of cruise.
- Operating area.
- Equipment requested.
- Other relevant considerations.
The cognizant program officer, in consultation with IPS ship operations personnel, will then use this information to determine as to whether or not the request for additional facilities support is appropriate.
Data
The NSF/OCE Data and Sample Policy defines expectations for awardees with regard to data produced in whole or in part through OCE funding. The policy states that:
"PIs are required to submit, at no more than incremental cost and within a reasonable time frame (but no later than two (2) years after the data are collected), the primary data, samples, physical collections and other supporting materials created or gathered in the course of work under NSF/OCE grants to the appropriate Data Center"
This policy builds on the requirements of the CA-FATC and provides additional guidance as to how investigators can provide robust data management plans. The policy applies to oceanographic work conducted from both ARF and non-ARF vessels.
On ARF vessels, the responsibility for submission of all underway data is removed from the principal investigator and is handled by the operator-institution through the Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) gateway. The investigator assumes this responsibility for any research cruises on non-ARF vessels.
OCE environmental compliance documents
NSF complies with environmental and historic preservation laws like the "National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)," the "National Historic Preservation Act" and the "Endangered Species Act," among others. NSF considers and, as appropriate, addresses potential environmental impacts, such as effects on biological, historic and cultural resources, including tribal resources.
