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5 Ship Time Costs and Their Impacts
Pages 61-74

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From page 61...
... These include major cost factors and trends, the relationship of research ship scheduling to operational costs, the potential for expeditionary planning, future trends in fleet composition, and ship layups. The impacts of these cost trends are also examined in the context of their effect on research proposals and awards, the efficiency of ship operations, and their potential to alter the present operating model.
From page 62...
... The increase in overall UNOLS fleet costs from 2000 to 2008 was not $30,000,000 $25,000,000 Crew $20,000,000 All Other Costs Dollars $15,000,000 Fuel & Maintenance Lube Oil $10,000,000 & Overhaul Shore Support Staff $5,000,000 $0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Figure 5-1  Major cost factors FigureUNOLS fleet, 2000-2008. The categories for the 5-1.eps listed are crew salaries and benefits (dashed gray line)
From page 63...
... In addition, UNOLS vessels must comply with new environmental, safety, and security regulations. These new measures have required increased crew training and increased staffing requirements (UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee, 2009)
From page 64...
... . In 2009, fuel prices dropped substantially from their 2008 highs, but the unstable nature of recent oil prices suggests that fuel costs may remain a significant aspect of total operating costs in the future.
From page 65...
... Operational costs are also impacted by the geographic distribution of the fleet, which does not mirror the requested locations for use. Regional class ships are more closely tied to the location of their operating institution than are larger vessels.
From page 66...
... The new and planned Ocean class ships are significantly less capable than the Global class in terms of deck loads and berthing. Accommodating heavy deck loads and large science parties on Ocean class vessels would require scheduling extra legs, leading to more time in port and a greater number of ship days per research mission.
From page 67...
... Ships approaching the end of their projected service life will be evaluated to assess their condition. Figure 5-4  The UNOLS fleet projected service life time line (adapted from Figure 5-4.eps UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee, 2009; used with permission from UNOLS)
From page 68...
... An additional consideration is the cost per science berth. Global vessels, although the most expensive ships of the fleet with the highest day rates, are in high demand and have heavy usage (UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee, 2009)
From page 69...
... Factors that affect idle periods on research ships include planned major maintenance periods, variations in funding levels for major field programs, uncertainties in federal research budgets, inconsistent business relationships with nonfederal users, and seasonal demands. Some excess ship capacity is occasionally used in each class to handle planned maintenance periods, which require fairly long downtimes.
From page 70...
... , NSF could not maintain its non-ship-related research without reductions in the number of ship days funded each year (UNOLS Fleet Improvement Committee, 2009)
From page 71...
... have very high success rates, the low rate of successful proposals with ship time is detrimental to maintaining the UNOLS fleet.
From page 72...
... In addi 7000 Ship Days Funded 6000 5000 Ship Days Available 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Figure 5-9.eps Figure 5-9  The difference between UNOLS funded ship days and the ship days available for use, 2000-2025. Funded ship days are shown in gray, while available ship days are shown with a black line.
From page 73...
... Although budget issues in the past few years have caused ship scheduling to occur later in the year, there is growing pressure to schedule the Global class ships significantly earlier than is the current practice. Another trend may be toward increasing the flexibility of cruise timing, especially if it requires specialized equipment supported by only one ship or involves work in remote locations.
From page 74...
... The reliance on Ocean class vessels in the current fleet renewal strategy probably will not lead to a future fleet with reduced operational costs, but may lead to a fleet with fewer capabilities.


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