On November 29 at the Port of Montevideo, in a ceremony headed by the Minister of National Defense, Armando Castaingdebat and with the presence of the former minister and current senator Javier García, the Commander in Chief of the National Navy, Admiral Jorge Wilson, authorities from the Ministry of Defense and the National Navy, the new scientific vessel “ROU Oyarvide” was received and in this way “a capacity lost in 2015 was recovered,” said Castaingdebat.
After an arduous process driven by the management of former Minister Javier García and continued by the current Minister Armando Castaingdebat, this important acquisition was made, with cutting-edge technology to carry out various investigations and studies related to the marine ecosystem. Its incorporation represents a crucial step towards the consolidation of scientific capabilities and the strengthening of the cooperation that the Navy will offer to the scientific community.
The ship set sail on October 9 from Seattle (United States), then passed through the ports of San Diego (United States), Callao (Peru), Talcahuano and Punta Arenas (Chile), until arriving this afternoon in our country.
The Minister of Defense said that “it was an acquisition with 100% funds from the Ministry of Defense. In 2021, negotiations began and fortunately today, after 45 days, we have it here. Now we have to make some small repairs to what is out of the water.” He also added that “I think it is a before and after for the scientific community of this country.”
When asked about the value of the ship, Minister Castaingdebat said that it had a cost of “around 3.5 million dollars, and was paid for with Ministry funds. It was understood that this was the best option and I think that it was a very good and correct decision that Javier García made at the time. Today we have to receive it and make it operational.”
Specs
- According to the information provided by the National Navy, the vessel is equipped with a sophisticated, state-of-the-art bottom mapping sonar, the Kongsberg EM 120 and EM 710.
- EM 120: 2 x 2 degree multibeam echo sounder with an operating frequency of 12 kHz up to a depth range of 11,000 meters. The EM 120 is the premium choice for efficient mapping of larger oceans.
- The coverage area of a single swath can be up to 25 km and the system is designed to produce a regular pattern of bottom soundings for quality mapping.
- EM 710: 2 x 2 degree full version multibeam echosounder is a high to very high resolution seabed mapping system.
- The survey depth can range from as little as less than 3 metres to approximately 2000 metres. The swath width is up to 5.5 times the water depth, to a maximum survey depth of over 2000 metres.
- In addition, the ROU 22 “Oyarvide” has the capacity to transport smaller boats up to 32 feet in size, and also has a Zodiac Mk4 Mil-Pro Heavy Duty semi-rigid boat with a 60 HP engine, capable of transporting up to 10 crew members.
- The large working capacity of its maneuvering deck allows it to transport up to two 20-foot containers, thus giving it the capacity to transport multipurpose material for a variety of missions to be fulfilled.