Kongsberg Discovery on board with One Ocean Expedition for ambitious, year-long research voyage
by Kongsberg Discovery 12 Apr 22:19 NZST
Statsraad Lehmkuhl: Kongsberg Discovery is on board for the year-long One Ocean Expedition © Kongsberg Discovery
Kongsberg Discovery has helped transform the 111-year-old, three-masted sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl into a state-of-the-art research vessel for the upcoming One Ocean Expedition, departing from Bergen, Norway, on 11 April.
The almost 100-metre-long vessel, Norway's largest sailing ship, has been fitted with an array of Kongsberg Discovery technology to help scientists monitor and understand unique ocean environments, including the waters of the legendary Northwest Passage.
Onboard systems now include 75 and 300 kHz ADCPs, EK80 Echo Sounders, an advanced hydrophone cluster, and the Seapath GNSS-aided inertial navigation system, while Blue Insight, a cutting-edge ocean data management and analytics platform, will process and share captured data with land-based teams daily. In addition, a wide range of equipment, such as weather stations, water samplers, situational awareness, and motion reference units, has also been integrated.
A world of opportunity
The One Ocean Expedition 2025-2026 is a 12-month voyage encompassing 26 ports across three continents. It will see a crew featuring seasoned scientists, eager students and key stakeholders crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Arctic, the Pacific, and the Caribbean.
En route, the team will collect a wealth of data to help ascertain ocean health, monitor marine ecosystems, and assess the impact of climate change, building both knowledge and awareness of pressing issues.
Proven performance
"It is a great honour to be supporting this crucial expedition with our cutting-edge solutions," says Martin Wien Fjell, President of Kongsberg Discovery. "The ship will work as a unique data acquisition platform, empowering insights in often remote and little-understood environments, such as the Northwest Passage, while gathering invaluable information about the broader state of ocean health.
"Our systems are perfectly suited to the tasks ahead, performing with proven reliability, optimal precision and high-quality results in even the most demanding conditions. We're looking forward to setting sail, while also helping the students set sail on their careers as the next generation of ocean scientists and explorers. We believe major discoveries await."
Global benefits
Kongsberg Discovery's innovations will be put to work on a number of key assignments, including measuring ocean currents, with the ADCP, to help understand how marine life is affected by ocean movements, and recording underwater noise, using hydrophones, to 'listen' for pollution and monitor marine mammals, such as whales.
"The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is an incredible vessel, but to meet the ambitious expedition goals, it needed a major technology upgrade," comments Haakon Vatle, CEO and expedition leader, The One Ocean Expedition. "We're immensely grateful to Kongsberg Discovery and the Kongsberg Group for their commitment to tailor a technology package that will allow us to shine light on the depths and unlock a level of understanding that, we hope, can benefit the entire world."
The One Ocean Expedition sets sail during One Ocean Week in Bergen, calling in at ports including Reykjavik, Nuuk (Greenland), Cambridge Bay (Canada), Seattle, La Paz (Mexico), Cartagena (Columbia), Cadiz, and Dublin. During its stop in Nice, France, vessel team members will participate in the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. Statsraad Lehmkuhl will return to Bergen in April 2026, in time for next year's One Ocean Week.
For further details on the route and expedition, please see www.oneoceanexpedition.com
www.kongsberg.com/discovery