{"id":108221,"date":"2019-12-20T13:41:43","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T23:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=108221"},"modified":"2020-05-08T10:13:11","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T20:13:11","slug":"kok-research-vessel-retires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/12\/20\/kok-research-vessel-retires\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> research vessel Ka\u02bbimikai-O-Kanaloa retires from service"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Research Vessel Kaʻimikai-O-Kanaloa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A reception was held on the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> research vessel Kaʻimikai<\/span>-O-Kanalo<\/em> (“Heavenly Searcher of the Seas of Kanaloa”) just before she was sold this fall. Affectionately known to many as the K-O-K<\/abbr>, the ship joined the fleet of UH<\/abbr> marine expeditionary research vessels on January 15, 1994. Since then, K-O-K<\/abbr> has been used across the Pacific Ocean on a variety of missions that included submersible operations, deployment of deep-sea moorings, hydrographic surveys and studies of marine biology, chemistry and climate change.<\/p>\n

The original vessel was built by Mangrove Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, in 1979 and was used for more than a decade for oil and gas exploration. Starting in 1992, UH<\/abbr> oceanographer and director of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Undersea Research Laboratory<\/a> (HURL<\/abbr>), Alex Malahoff<\/strong>, worked tirelessly to acquire and reconfigure this 185-foot offshore supply vessel to serve as a support ship for HURL<\/abbr>\u2019s two human-occupied submersibles, Makaliʻi<\/span><\/em> and Pisces V<\/abbr><\/em>, the remotely-operated vehicle RC V-150<\/abbr><\/em>. After the vessel Makaliʻi<\/span><\/em> was retired, K-O-K<\/abbr> also supported the submersible Pisces IV<\/abbr><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Attendees at the reception included Beverly Malahoff, who christened the reconfigured R\/V<\/abbr> Kaʻimikai<\/span>-O-Kanaloa<\/em> when she emerged from Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Co. as a versatile 223–foot oceanographic research vessel with a cruising speed of 10 knots, a 15,000 nautical mile range, 50–day endurance, and space for 14 crew members and 19 scientists. The approximately $5 million conversion was funded by the state of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and NOAA<\/abbr>, with the state holding the ship\u2019s title.<\/p>\n

K-O-K<\/abbr>\u2019s greatest accomplishments<\/h2>\n
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HURL<\/abbr> submersible ready for launch. Credit: Jana Light<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

K-O-K<\/abbr> facilitated research in Hawaiian waters and across the Pacific Ocean by scientists from UH<\/abbr> and around the world. Some of K-O-K<\/abbr>\u2019s greatest accomplishments using the HURL<\/abbr> submersibles include finding the sunken Japanese midget sub that led the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, investigating the chain of active volcanoes running north from New Zealand<\/a>, long-term monitoring of the changes and growth of Loʻihi<\/span> seamount off Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island and finding dozens of new species in the Papah\u0101naumoku\u0101kea Marine National Monument<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“In addition to enabling important discoveries and ocean monitoring efforts, the local access of K-O-K<\/abbr> made available UH<\/abbr>\u2019s UNOLSM<\/abbr> (University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System) and AGOR<\/abbr> (Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research) vessels (previously R\/V<\/abbr> Moana Wave<\/em> and now R\/V<\/abbr> Kilo Moana<\/em>) for extended circum-Pacific expeditions,” said Brian Taylor<\/strong>, dean of the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the most consistent users of K-O-K<\/abbr> was the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Ocean Time-series<\/a> (HOT<\/abbr>) program. From July 1999 through July 2018, 93 separate HOT<\/abbr> cruises to the open-ocean Station ALOHA were conducted aboard K-O-K<\/abbr>. The vessel was also used in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> for numerous expeditions by the UH<\/abbr> Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education<\/a> and the UH<\/abbr> Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology<\/a>, including the Life Aquatic in the Volcanic Aftermath expedition<\/a> in July 2018 to explore the effects of the K\u012blauea eruption on the marine environment. <\/p>\n

After 25 years of scientific voyages for UH<\/abbr>, K-O-K<\/abbr> was retired following her final expedition in July 2018 on the 304th cruise of the HOT<\/abbr> program. In December, K-O-K<\/abbr> was towed to Mexico by an ocean tug where she will be recycled and repurposed. <\/p>\n

—By Marcie Grabowski<\/em><\/p>\n

\"submersible\"
HURL<\/abbr> submersible Pisces V<\/abbr> aboard KOK<\/abbr> (Photo credit: Jana Light).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Affectionately known as the K-O-K<\/abbr>, the ship joined the fleet of UH<\/abbr> marine expeditionary research vessels in 1994 and has been used across the Pacific Ocean on a variety of missions .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[257,733,293,1363,92,798,9],"class_list":["post-108221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-center-for-microbial-oceanography-research-and-education","tag-hawaii-ocean-time-series","tag-hawaii-undersea-research-laboratory","tag-manoa-research","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-simons-collaboration-on-ocean-processes-and-ecology","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t