Article

People on board

For 8 weeks, 44 people called RV Tangaroa their home as they went on the International Polar Year (IPY) voyage to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Making up the 44 were 18 crew, 24 scientists and 2 people from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

The crew included the ship’s officers – the captain, first mate, second mate and an ice pilot (who took charge of navigating the ship when there was ice in the water). They looked after the smooth running of the ship, navigation and the ship’s safety. There were two engineers who kept the ship’s large diesel engines, electrical and water systems working. In the galley, there were two cooks and a steward who were responsible for providing meals for everybody on board – no easy task with 44 hungry people! The deck crew were responsible for handling all the equipment on deck – deploying and retrieving the scientific instruments over the side of the ship and driving all the winches and cranes. There was also a doctor on board, which was important when the crew was so far from land.

The scientists on board had a wide range of scientific interests and were split into a number of teams. The benthic team studied the organisms that live on the seafloor. The fish team, who investigated the fish life in the Ross Sea, was organised into two groups – one assessed the number of fish and the other identified the species of fish that were caught during the voyage. There was also a team that conducted research on the biodiversity of viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton (the really small organisms) that live in the water. There were also 3 staff whose job it was to look after all the electronic and computer equipment, including running the multibeam sounder that was used to map the seafloor. The scientific team members came from NIWA, Te Papa, Victoria University of Wellington and The University of Waikato. There was also one scientist from the United States and one from Italy.

LINZ personnel included the LINZ representative who assisted the documentary and filmmaker from Natural History New Zealand.

This is a list of all the personnel who went on the IPY voyage:

Electronics and multibeam team

The IT and multibeam team on board the research ship Tangaroa.

IT and multibeam team

The IT and multibeam team on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

John Mitchell - Voyage Leader (NIWA)

Stephen Robbins (NIWA)

Arne Pallentin (NIWA)

The fish team

The fish team on board the research ship Tangaroa.

Fish team

The fish team on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Stuart Hanchet – Science Leader, Fish team (NIWA)

Gavin Macaulay (NIWA)

Peter McMillan (NIWA)

Darren Stevens (NIWA)

Chris Jones (NOAA)

Richard O'Driscoll (NIWA)

Chaz Marriott (NIWA)

Brent Wood (NIWA)

Andrew Stewart (Te Papa)

Benthic team

The benthic team on board the research ship Tangaroa.

Benthic team

The benthic team on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Dave Bowden (NIWA)

Kareen Schnabel (NIWA)

Matt Knox (Waikato University)

Malcolm Clark (NIWA)

Sadie Mills (NIWA)

Steve George (NIWA)

Niki Davey (NIWA)

Stefano Schiaparelli (Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse)

Pelagic team

The pelagic team on board the research ship Tangaroa.

Pelagic team

The pelagic team on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Julie Hall, Pelagic team, Education (NIWA)

Els Maas (NIWA)

Stu Pickmere (NIWA)

Lisa Bryant (Victoria University)

Doctor and film crew

The doctor and film crew on board the research ship the Tangaroa

Doctor and film crew

The doctor and film crew on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Jenny Vissor - Doctor (Consultant)

Max Quinn - Documentary and filmmaker (Natural History New Zealand)

Stacey Mulgrew – LINZ Representative (MFish)

Vessel Personnel

Officers

Four officers on the bridge of the research ship Tangaroa

The officers

The officers on the bridge of the Tangaroa

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Andrew Leachman - Master (NIWA) Vessels

Robert Graham - Ice Pilot (Consultant)

Evan Solly - 1st Mate (NIWA) Vessels

Brent White - 2nd Mate (NIWA) Vessels

Engineers

The engineers on board the research ship the Tangaroa

Tangaroa engineers

The Tangaroa engineers and their mascot.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Alfred Memelink - Chief Engineer (NIWA) Vessels

Lindsay Battersby - 2nd Engineer (NIWA) Vessels

Galley

Galley in the kitchen on board the research ship the Tangaroa

Galley team

The galley team in the galley of the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Kim Ashby - Cook (NIWA) Vessels

Brian Samuels - 2nd Cook (NIWA) Vessels

Frances Parker - Steward (NIWA) Vessels

Deckcrew

The deck crew on board the research ship the Tangaroa

Deckcrew

The deckcrew on board the Tangaroa.

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Glen Walker - Leading Hand (NIWA) Vessels

Mike Steele - Bosun (NIWA) Vessels

Stephen Bailey - Boatdriver (NIWA) Vessels

Shane Harvey - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels

Ian Smith - Deckhand (NIWA)Vessels

Edmund Fox - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels

Andrew Williams - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels

Dylan Bennett - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels

Published:03 December 2007