The REBIKOFF SYSTEM: A Worldwide Unique System for Ocean and Deep-Sea Research and Exploration

The REBIKOFF SYSTEM consists of a 17-meter catamaran, the ADA REBIKOFF, and the LULA1000 submersible (depth rated to 1,000 meters for a crew of up to 3).

The ADA REBIKOFF was specifically designed as a diving vehicle carrier and bathymetric survey vessel. The vessel has been used for multibeam and sidescan surveys and as support vessel for submersible missions during the past 12 years by the Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation (www.rebikoff.org), in the Northeast Atlantic, namely the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos. But its versatility and possible uses go way beyond this.

The vessel can also easily be used for wreck search and recovery. The precision sidescan equipment allows for high-res acoustic imagery at depths up to 900 meters. She is also an ideal tool for scuba diving or ROV operations, or for any kind of missions that require the collection of oceanographic data or samples. The huge workspace can host an additional cable winch and a work class ROV (with all its accessories) or be used for lab space.

With the moon pool between the hulls and a 10-ton hoisting system, deployment, recovery, and transport of a human occupied diving vehicle (HOV), ROV or AUV is an easy and safe task. The vessel only needs a crew of two to operate, making coastal or oceanic research accessible to research groups without mega budgets.

The vessel is equipped with an ELAC multibeam sonar system for bathymetric surveys to 3,000 meters, a motion sensor, sidescan sonar with magnetometer, and a winch with 2,200 meters of cable, a USBL tracking system, and voice communication system for the underwater vehicle, and a workshop with lathe, milling machine, welding equipment, stock of spare parts, etc.

SIZE MATTERS

Though only 17 meters in overall length, the ADA REBIKOFF is perfectly engineered to carry the 1000-meter depth rated LULA1000 submersible onboard, which has full DNV classification for a crew of 3. In this unique combination, the LULA1000 is the only deep diving human occupied vehicle (HOV) worldwide operated from a support vessel only 17 meters in length.

Working with a HOV this size usually requires a much larger vessel and crew, heavier logistics, and weightier budgets. The REBIKOFF SYSTEM can be kept small, safe, and simple because the LULA1000 is launched in port, between the catamaran’s hulls, and towed to the dive site. Between harbors, the submersible is transported onboard the ADA REBIKOFF. At the dive site, the submersible crew is brought to the sub with a dinghy, and the catamaran stays near the dive spot for communication and tracking. The submersible could easily be replaced by a ROV or AUV, or the moon pool be used for scuba diving or wet lab activities.

A LEGACY OF EXPLORATION

Dimitri Rebikoff and his wife Ada were pioneers in developing diving technology (1948-1990). Today, the Rebikoff Foundation reflects 70 years of experience in technical development. The primary goal has always been to find simple solutions to complex projects. This principle has guided the Rebikoff Foundation through the last 20 years of safe and incident-free deep diving.

Working in the Azores often means operating in rough sea conditions, and the 8-ton LULA1000 is often transported long distances aboard the ADA REBIKOFF. The catamaran also serves as a platform for any necessary maintenance work on the sub.

The vessel can accommodate 8 people during multi-day missions. Battery charging and refilling of the submersible’s air tanks can easily be done at open sea. During longer missions, the time allocated for re-charging is usually used for multibeam surveys and processing of the multibeam data, so previous bottom characterization using a fine-scale bathymetric map helps define the dive transect for the next day(s).

To date, the Rebikoff System has successfully completed multiple scientific, technological, and natural heritage expeditions—some lasting five days or longer—in collaboration with prestigious research institutions. By tracking submerged slopes and seamounts, the LULA1000 has already helped significantly advance the knowledge of oceanic ecosystems in the fields of marine biology, habitat mapping, archaeological research, and contributed to wildlife studies and ocean filming for several groundbreaking nature documentaries.

SEABED DISCOVERIES

Seabed mapping activities in the Azores and Madeira have led to the discoveries of coldwater coral reefs, sponge fields, coral gardens, or other vulnerable marine ecosystems, and never-before documented species.

Experimental structures for coral restoration, bioerosion projects and for longtime studies on abyssal unicellular organisms have also been deployed and recovered.

A sunken WWII German U-boat was located and documented resting at a depth of 870 meters, first using the onboard multibeam and sidescan sonar systems, and then doing ground-truthing dives with the LULA1000 submersible. Some discoveries have made headline news around the globe.

Images have been collected and used for the most ambitious and groundbreaking wildlife series, such as six gill sharks feeding on a whale carcass for the BBC´s Blue Planet II. Other iconic images have also been used in the final editing of the BBC´s Atlantic series, Netflix’s Our Planet, National Geographic’s Hostile Planet, and iTV´s Life at the Extreme.

Ocean research does not necessarily have to be exclusive to major research institutions and those that can afford to operate large oceanographic vessels. Arquipelagoes, or coastal regions with ocean research and management responsibilities, may need to operate a research infrastructure without access to major budgets. A research vessel needs to be appropriately dimensioned according to its pre-defined mission profile, considering the specific research demands that determine the kinds of equipment needed onboard and in what sorts of sea conditions the vessel needs to operate in, etc.

SMALL DIMENSIONS, BIG ACHIEVEMENTS

It is all too easy to overestimate the scale of research vessel required, leading to an avoidable hike in operating costs for crew, maintenance, supplies, insurance, administration etc. This ultimately renders the whole system less flexible. And then, inevitably, the vessel easily ends up spending more time moored in the harbor rather than doing work at sea.

The solution is to “think small, achieve big”: Operating the highly reliable and compact REBIKOFF SYSTEM in recent years has consistently proven that first-rate ocean research is possible at a fraction of the cost normally associated with level of quality of marine research.

This story was featured in ON&T October 2021. Click here to access the digital issue.