Shaping the future of the French oceanographic fleet

The French Oceanographic Fleet (FOF) is one of the largest oceanographic fleets in the world. Its ability to operate at great depths and its global coverage make it an essential tool for ocean sciences. To prepare for the renewal of the FOF, a global and collective foresight process has been undertaken in 2023 and 2024.

We identified strong expectations for the FOF around major scientific challenges: (i) understanding the role of the ocean as a regulator in the climate system and the profound changes that are taking place; (ii) reconstructing paleoclimates based on marine sedimentary archives; (iii) geological and geophysical knowledge of the oceanic crust; (iv) the diversity of living organisms and biogeochemical cycles; (v) the impact of human activities on the ocean. These major scientific challenges call for the FOF to be deployed throughout the world's oceans, particularly in certain regions that are more sensitive to changes and in areas that already benefit from long-term scientific monitoring.

To carry out this ambitious programme, the FOF's capacity will have to be consistent with France's ambitions for ocean sciences. At the crossroads of technological prospects and scientific needs, several path for evolution of ships and facilities have been identified. We must continue to renew the fleet of coastal, mid-shore and deep-sea vessels. They are essential facilities for deploying subsea systems, sampling the water column or the sea bed, and carrying out in situ work. Coastal and oceanic unmanned surface vehicle (USV) will also provide additional support. Giving access to the deep seas, the renewal of underwater equipment will be particularly marked by the modernisation of the 6000 m HOV Nautile and ROV Victor

The FOF will also have to improve its processes in terms of access to infrastructure, anticipation in the geographical positioning of ships and the programming of missions and also enhance the use of data. Strengthening European and international partnerships will also be essential in order to optimise the displacement of vessels in remote areas.

But neither can the FOF imagine its future without considering to reduce its environmental footprint. The FOF emits around 43,000 tCO2 per year. Fuel accounts for 71% of these emissions. Decarbonising the FOF is a huge challenge that can only be met by combining changes in practices and ships design. We advocate that future deep-sea oceanographic ships should be hybrid and make extensive use of wind propulsion especially for transits. Without waiting for these new types of vessels, there are a number of levers that can reduce the carbon footprint: dockside electricity, reducing vessel speed and introducing biofuels. Strict application of these measures could lead to a 20% reduction in emissions by 2030. From 2030 onwards, decarbonisation will have to be stepped up as new ocean-going hybrid vessels enter the fleet. There is therefore a vital interest in rapidly building a first ‘decarbonised’ deep-sea ship, successor to the R/V L'Atalante, in order to preserve the potential for deep-sea operations and to allow the FOF to reach a significant decarbonisation milestone.