MBARI expands capacity for ocean research with new state-of-the-art ship

MBARI’s marine operations team begins preparations for science missions aboard our new flagship research vessel David Packard later this year.

Why It Matters

A new state-of-the-art ship will greatly expand our capacity for ocean exploration, allowing us to deploy diverse technology to understand our changing ocean and facilitate new collaborations to advance much-needed efforts to monitor ocean health.

MBARI is excited to announce the arrival of our new research vessel, R/V David Packard, at our headquarters in Moss Landing, California. Named for MBARI’s founder, the late Silicon Valley innovator and ocean philanthropist David Packard, the ship will enhance MBARI’s capacity to pursue bold marine research initiatives and transform ocean science and engineering.

Twenty-three members of MBARI’s marine operations team stand in front of an MBARI research vessel. The group is standing on a rusty-brown cement dock, and two individuals in the center of the group are holding an orange flotation ring. The research vessel in the background is white with a blue hull, printed with the name DAVID PACKARD and a registration number. In the background is bright-blue sky. — On February 1, 2025, the crew of R/V *David Packard* set sail from Vigo, Spain, to bring the ship to its home port in Moss Landing, California. Image: © 2025 MBARI

Believing that science and technology are critical to understanding and protecting the ocean, MBARI designed R/V David Packard to maximize the potential for on-the-water scientific discovery.

“The David Packard is an exciting addition to MBARI’s fleet of research vessels and an essential tool for ocean exploration. The ship will not only support advanced technology developed by the MBARI team but also promote collaboration across the marine science and technology community. Together, it’s all hands on deck to understand our changing ocean,” said Director of Marine Operations Kaya Johnson.

Expanded capacity

The newest member of MBARI’s fleet of research vessels, R/V David Packard will support extended expeditions across our coast, from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California. Image: François Cazenave © 2025 MBARI

At 50 meters (164 feet) long and 12.8 meters (42 feet) wide, our new ship can accommodate up to 12 crew members and 18 scientists for voyages lasting up to 10 days offshore of California, as well as extended expeditions across the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. By comparison, the ship is 62 percent larger than our previous flagship research vessel, R/V Western Flyer. The larger size will expand MBARI’s ability to study how climate change and other threats are affecting marine life and environments across the West Coast, from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California.

A bigger ship will also increase our ability to collaborate with colleagues by allowing MBARI scientists to invite external partners aboard to share expertise and work together to advance ocean research. We look forward to hosting our education and conservation partner, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, aboard for ongoing support of the groundbreaking Into the Deep / En lo Profundo exhibition.

Upping our tech game

An MBARI research vessel sails in open grayish-blue water. The research vessel is white with a blue hull printed with the vessel name DAVID PACKARD and port MOSS LANDING. On the deck are cranes and other oceanographic research equipment. In the background is a hazy orange-and-blue sky. — R/V *David Packard* will be able to support deployment of a diverse assortment of MBARI’s advanced research technologies to provide researchers with a more complete picture of ocean health. Image: Karen Martinez © 2025 MBARI

The ship will serve as the command center for MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts, a robotic submersible that can dive up to 4,000 meters (2.5 miles) underwater. MBARI researchers rely on this technology to study marine life, ecosystems, and processes deep beneath the ocean’s surface to increase our understanding of the midnight zone and abyssal seafloor.

Unlike its predecessor, R/V David Packard can also support the launch and recovery of MBARI’s autonomous technologies, including underwater vehicles that can map the seafloor, conduct visual surveys of the midwater, and monitor ocean health as well as aerial drones that can document sea surface conditions and wildlife.

Sharing what we learn

The captain of an MBARI research vessel speaks with a group of students on the ship’s bridge. The captain is wearing a navy-blue t-shirt and black pants and standing in front of black consoles with ship controls. The students are standing on the right side of the frame against a white wall. In the background are windows looking out over a coastal city and blue ocean. — During R/V *David Packard*’s transit to Moss Landing, MBARI hosted oceanography students from universities in Baja California during a port stop in Ensenada, Mexico. Image: Francisco Chavez © 2025 MBARI

MBARI is a hub of innovation, where scientists and engineers work together to push the envelope in ocean science and technology. As we make new discoveries at sea, we will share data with the field, creating new partnership opportunities. We look forward to sharing MBARI research, technology, and data with our peers and resource managers and policymakers who are making decisions about the future of the ocean.

MBARI is committed to fostering a new generation of ocean explorers and making ocean science and engineering careers accessible to all. We have many research collaborations with scientists in Mexico to study the Gulf of California. As the R/V David Packard made its way to Moss Landing, we hosted collaborators and students from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada aboard the ship during a port stop in Ensenada, Mexico.

Worth the wait

More than a decade in the making, the new ship was designed by Glosten—in partnership with MBARI’s marine operations team—and constructed by the Spanish ship-building company Freire Shipyard. Glosten provided on-site construction support to Freire at its facilities in Vigo, Spain, with members of MBARI’s marine operations team traveling to Spain to oversee key milestones and sea trials.

Now that the vessel has completed its 59-day transit from Spain, MBARI’s marine operations team will take on the lengthy process of installing custom equipment and systems for oceanographic research. The vessel will go to dry dock for scheduled maintenance and regulatory inspections, then return to Moss Landing, where MBARI engineers and marine operations crew will adapt, test, and fine-tune its systems to meet the institute’s unique needs. Science missions aboard R/V David Packard will begin later this year.

Two MBARI research vessels sit in port across the street from MBARI’s research facilities. A white research vessel with a blue hull is in the foreground, and a white research vessel with a black hull docked behind it. The research facilities include five large two-story gray buildings with several cars parked in front of each. In the foreground is the brown water of the harbor. In the background are greenish-blue ocean, white waves, light-blue sky, and gray clouds. — Together, R/V *David Packard* (foreground) and R/V *Rachel Carson* (background) are instrumental tools for MBARI researchers and collaborators to study our changing ocean. Image: Todd Walsh © 2025 MBARI

R/V David Packard joins R/V Rachel Carson and R/V Paragon in MBARI’s fleet of research vessels. R/V Rachel Carson will continue to serve as the primary platform for MBARI’s coastal operations, including support for the ROV Ventana and the launch and recovery of autonomous underwater vehicles, moorings, and many other surface and underwater instrument packages. R/V Paragon will continue to support nearshore scientific scuba diving and other oceanographic research operations.

Construction of R/V David Packard was made possible thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s longtime support of MBARI’s work to advance marine science and technology to understand a changing ocean.

Follow MBARI on social media for updates about the ship’s progress.

Story by Senior Science Communication and Media Relations Specialist Raúl Nava

For additional information or images relating to this article, please email pressroom@mbari.org.

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