Requirements

Operational modes

QUEST Launch and Recovery

QUEST is generally operated in free flying (or "live boating") mode, which means there is a direct connection between the steel armoured umbilical cable, the vehicle and the winch. Thus, the vehicle has to be capable of pulling a certain part of the cable to gain spatial freedom when deployed. In order to achieve this capability, 10 - 12 float units are manually attached to the umbilical during deployment, reducing cable weight to become neutrally buoyant some 20 m behind the vehicle.

Deployment and recovery both is performed as a close cooperation between QUEST team members and ship's crew. In general, 2 pilots fly the vehicle, a deck supervisor advises pilots while the vehicle is at the surface, and the ship's crew handles the heavy load equipment such as ship's lifting winches and A-frame, and of course provides a precise vessel navigation. Typically, the vessel's aft deck will be closed to anybody not involved into the deployment/recovery procedures.

Launch and recovery requires increased working personnel from all parties, including scientists, ship's crew and ROV team. Thus, it is appreciated if launch and recovery procedures are planned at times already visited by a majority of the members from all parties. 8 am, 12:00, 16:00 and 20:00 are well experienced times fitting as a good compromise to the normal watch cycles on the german vessels.


Diving operations and turn-around times

12 hour diving operations on a routine daily schedule are performed during daytime, preferrably between 8 am and 8 pm. Prior to any dive, a 2 hour pre-dive check is performed by the ROV team to ensure all systems operating. After the dives, a 2 hour postdive check is necessary to recover the vehicle entirely from its operational state.

During 12h operational mode, the turn around between 2 dives is 12 hours, including recovery time for the QUEST crew. More time is needed if any adaptions for the next dive are planned, or if any technical issues occured and have to be solved. A shorter turn-around may be exceptionally considered if the attended dives are substantially shorter than 12 hours AND the turn around happens during daytime.

Continuos 24 hour diving operations can only be performed when applied during cruise preparation prior to the coordinative meeting, since the QUEST crew has to be increased (see personnel requirements below) and a shift system has to be run during the major part of the expedition. This mode allows long dives, and a continuos dive - repair cycle in case technical issues happen.

The minimum turn-around time during 24 hour operation is 6 hours, assuming no major setup changes or any technical issues.

Personnel requirements

Depending on the operational mode of 12 hour versus 24 hour diving, the QUEST team will consist of 8 or 9 crew members, respectively.
The following positions are defined during operation:

In addition, the following scientific positions are to be filled during dive operation:

Deck footprint and vessel interfacing

QUEST comes with 4 x 20' ISO Containers, a total of 45 t equipment including containers. On the vessel's main workdeck, the following installations are necessary:

Electrical interconnection to the vessel is needed for power, data and video transmission. No hydraulic interfacing is used. Typically, the following connections will be installed:

Scientific interface specification

For interfacing any scientific equipment such as sensors, sample tools, cameras or any other device to be mounted on, or handled with QUEST, a "Peripheral device specification form" has to be filled out and delivered to the QUEST team at least 8 weeks prior to the begin of the proposed expedition. The form provides all necessary questions to decide if devices can be handled or interfaced with QUEST, and helps to identify what kind of adaptation work might be necessary. A delivery of the form in time is critical and will be handled strictly.

 Q5PeripheralSpecification.rtf

RTF editable text form

 Q5PeripheralSpecification.pdf

PDF editable form (needs Adobe Acrobat Reader)

 Q5PeripheralSpecificationAnnex-2_51.pdf

Specs. of the Schilling electrical SeaNet connetcor

Copyright agreement for underwater imagery and video

Images and videos taken with the ROV QUEST during a seagoing expedition underlie a general copyright agreement:

Digital underwater images, videos, and data produced and distributed during a particular cruise are explicitely dedicated for use in scientific, non-commercial applications. The copyright of all underwater image and video material is held by the MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany. In case of scientific publication and print on paper or in any electronic form the reference "copyright: MARUM, University of Bremen" has to be cited for each image or feed. In addition a written notification with publication reference and - if possible - a paper copy has to be send to below MARUM adress.

Any further publication in non-scientifc media, such as journals, newspapers, books, advertisings, catalogues, flyers, television or others, requires the explicit confirmation of MARUM prior to publication.

Please send requests and notifications of publications to one of the following adresses:

MARUM Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften Dr. Volker Ratmeyer Universität Bremen Leobener Straße 28359 Bremen Germany Tel +49 421 218 65604 Fax +49 421 218 98 65604 email

MARUM Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Albert Gerdes Universität Bremen Leobener Straße 28359 Bremen Germany Tel +49 421 218 65540 Fax +49 421 218 98 65540 email