Nautile
{{short description|Crewed submersible owned by Ifremer}}
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:Nautile (sous-marin de poche) - La Vilette - Paris - 2003.JPG | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = | Ship flag = {{FRA}} | Ship name = Nautile | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = | Ship original cost = | Ship laid down = | Ship launched = | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 1984 | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = 1984 | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = | Ship identification = | Ship nickname = | Ship fate = | Ship status = | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = Deep-submergence vehicle | Ship tonnage = | Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|8.0|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|2.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = {{convert|3.81|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship power = Electric motor | Ship propulsion = | Ship speed = 1.5kn | Ship range = 7.5km | Ship endurance = 120h | Ship test depth = {{convert|6000|m|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship complement = 3 | Ship sensors = | Ship armor = | Ship notes = }} |
Nautile is a crewed submersible owned by Ifremer, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. Commissioned in 1984, the submersible can be operated at depths of up to {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |title=Nautile |url=https://www.flotteoceanographique.fr/en/Facilities/Vessels-Deep-water-submersible-vehicles-and-Mobile-equipments/Deep-water-submersible-vehicles/Nautile |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=French oceanographic fleet |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223184143/https://www.flotteoceanographique.fr/en/Facilities/Vessels-Deep-water-submersible-vehicles-and-Mobile-equipments/Deep-water-submersible-vehicles/Nautile |url-status=live }}
Features
Nautile is capable of housing three people. It has a length of 8 m, still imaging cameras, two colour video cameras, and a number of LED floodlights. It is fitted with two robotic arms to allow remote manipulation. This makes it easier to inspect, image, and gather materials from areas otherwise unaccesible to the vehicle.{{Cite web |title=NOVA Online {{!}} Into the Abyss {{!}} Deep-Sea Machines (2) |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/frontier/deepsea2.html |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=www.pbs.org |archive-date=2023-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601101048/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/frontier/deepsea2.html |url-status=live }} Nautile can stay underwater for up to eight hours at a time. Six of those hours can include work on the sea floor.
Two ships can act as mothership to Nautile: Pourquoi Pas? and Atalante. In its early days, Nautile was launched from RV Nadir.
Uses
Without the need for a physical link to support its operation, the submersible can be readily deployed in a variety of environments. It's most commonly used to survey specific areas, collect samples, and assist in the investigation and recovery of wrecks.
The vessel has been used to examine the wrecks of the RMS Titanic and MV Prestige, and to search for the black boxes from Air France Flight 447{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWcdYoGt97tg |title=Air France Black Box Seeking Sub Is Titanic Veteran |access-date=2024-01-30 |archive-date=2024-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130022402/https://www.bloomberg.com/politics?pid=20601087&sid=aWcdYoGt97tg |url-status=live }}
During the inspection of the Titanic, it used a small manipulator arm known as "ROBIN" to retrieve numerous artifacts.{{Cite web |title=30 years ago, ECA got involved in the inspection of the TITANIC wreck |url=https://www.ecagroup.com/en/30-years-ago-eca-got-involved-inspection-titanic-wreck |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=ECA Group |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117052217/https://www.ecagroup.com/en/30-years-ago-eca-got-involved-inspection-titanic-wreck |url-status=live }} Equipped with CCD type cameras, ROBIN is only 60 x 50 x 50 cm large and weighs 130 kg. In August 1987, a 54-days expedition collected new images, videos, and objects from the wreck.
See also
{{Portal|France}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Nautile (submarine, 1984)}}
- [https://www.flotteoceanographique.fr/en/Facilities/Vessels-Deep-water-submersible-vehicles-and-Mobile-equipments/Deep-water-submersible-vehicles/Nautile Nautile] – specification from Ifremer website
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2536339.stm Nautile: miniature submarine] – BBC news article
- [https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3131 Submarine to examine sunken oil tanker] – New Scientist article
- [http://wwz.ifremer.fr/grands_fonds/Les-moyens/Les-engins/Les-sous-marins/Le-Nautile Le Nautile] – technical information from Ifremer website {{in lang|fr}}
{{Underwater diving|other}}
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Category:Deep-submergence vehicles