Following safe recovery of the ROV, Biology Science Team Lead Diva Amon prepares to retrieve the samples from ROV D2 while the deck team starts to assess the sheave located at the forward end of the aft deck.

Following safe recovery of the ROV, Biology Science Team Lead Diva Amon prepares to retrieve the samples from ROV D2 while the deck team starts to assess the sheave located at the forward end of the aft deck. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 855 KB).

ROV Recovery and Repair
April 25, 2016

During the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) ascent from Dive 4 at "Enigma Seamount" yesterday, a mechanical problem occurred with the ship's sheave at the forward end of the aft deck. For safety reasons, the ROV cable was reeled in very slowly – at about 15 percent its normal speed – and was not recovered until early this morning. The vehicles were brought safely aboard without incident and the ship remained on site and in Dynamic Positioning mode until ~1600 to provide a steady back deck so the team could safely and effectively evaluate and repair the sheave. The deck and engineering team disassembled the sheave, discovered the problem, and put the sheave back together with new bearings. Mission personnel spent the day catching up on reports, training new personnel, updating standard operating procedures, developing website content, and conducting equipment maintenance. ADCP data was collected all day during repairs, and once repairs were completed, we commenced transit mapping en route to the Fina Nagu volcanic chain where CTD and ROV operations are planned for the next few days.