Science Centres: Vessels

New Zealand’s only deepwater research vessel has had a $20 million dollar upgrade to enhance its ocean science and oil and gas exploration capabilities and extend its useable life.

• New Zealand’s only vessel with DP2 dynamic positioning
• New Zealand’s only ice-strengthened research ship
• Well-equipped for a wide range of environmental survey and ocean science work, including fisheries surveys
• Works throughout the South Pacific, Southern Ocean, and Antarctica

Detailed specifications & principal features

Contact us about Tangaroa’s capabilities 

2010 Upgrade

Tangaroa was extensively upgraded in 2010. This included a five-month stay at a Singapore dockyard, where a dynamic positioning (DP2) system was installed. A  DP system is a fully-automated system that allows the vessel to:

• remain fixed in a specific position at sea, despite wind, waves, and currents
• manoeuvre precisely
• navigate a straight path.

DP2 capabilities are essential for ocean science and marine operations undertaken by oil, gas, and mineral industries.

More about Tangaroa’s dynamic positioning system

Voyages

Tangaroa’s first voyage since the upgrade is a Chatham Rise trawl survey, which starts on 1 January 2011.

Other recent voyages include:

• Antarctic Whale Expedition, 2010
• Macquarie Ridge
• Kermadecs
• Chatham Rise fish biodiversity