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  • 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

    John Mitchell - Voyage Leader (NIWA)

    Stephen Robbins (NIWA)

    Arne Pallentin (NIWA)

    The fish team

    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

    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

    Julie Hall, Pelagic team, Education (NIWA)

    Els Maas (NIWA)

    Stu Pickmere (NIWA)

    Lisa Bryant (Victoria University)

    Doctor and film crew

    Jenny Vissor - Doctor (Consultant)

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

    Stacey Mulgrew – LINZ Representative (MFish)

    Vessel Personnel

    Officers

    Andrew Leachman - Master (NIWA) Vessels

    Robert Graham - Ice Pilot (Consultant)

    Evan Solly - 1st Mate (NIWA) Vessels

    Brent White - 2nd Mate (NIWA) Vessels

    Engineers

    Alfred Memelink - Chief Engineer (NIWA) Vessels

    Lindsay Battersby - 2nd Engineer (NIWA) Vessels

    Galley

    Kim Ashby - Cook (NIWA) Vessels

    Brian Samuels - 2nd Cook (NIWA) Vessels

    Frances Parker - Steward (NIWA) Vessels

    Deckcrew

    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 3 December 2007 Referencing Hub articles
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