Most active submersible in service

Most active submersible in service

Last updated: August 29, 2019 at 3:36 am

Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin (a.k.a. DSV-2) — Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). On November 25, 2018, Alvin had completed 5,000 dives. Commissioned on June 5, 1964, it is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Alvin is manned by a three-person crew of one pilot and two scientific observers. It is launched from the U.S. Navy deep submergence support vessel RV Atlantis (AGOR-25) and it has a maximum operating depth of 4,500 m (14,770 ft) for dives lasting up to 10 hours. Alvin’s most famous exploits include locating a hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea (1966), exploring deep-sea hydrothermal vents (1980s), and it conducted the first submersible dive on the wreck of the Titanic in 1986. Research conducted by scientists working aboard Alvin has been featured in approximately 2,000 science papers. Alvin was named to honour its main proponent, M. Allyn Vine.

Alvin Dive Statistics	as of 25/11/2018
Total Dives	5,000
Total Depth	10,349,202 m (33,954,075 ft)
Average Depth per Dive	2,070 m (6,791 ft)
Total Time Submerged	34,983 hours
Average Time Submerged per Dive	7.00 hours
Total Persons Carried	14,991
Dive Purpose Breakout
Biology	1,943
Geology/Geophysics	1,558
Chemistry/Geochemistry	702
Engineering/Equipment Tests	325
Search/Survey/Recovery	244
Orientation/Training	147
Certification	81

Other records and firsts by Alvin:

Deepest recovered sandwich
Deepest submersible recovery
First dive on the Titanic
First link-up between submersible and the ISS
First woman on a science dive aboard a submersible

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

The Alvin submersible. Photo by OAR/NURP (Public Domain)

Alvin submersible in 2006. Photo by NOAA (Public Domain)

The sunken Alvin on the ocean bottom in June 1969, photographed from the Aluminaut submersible. Photo by U.S. Navy (Public Domain)

Alvin emergency release mechanism. Photo by Office of Naval Research (Public Domain)

Alvin general layout. Photo by Office of Naval Research (Public Domain)

The DSV Alvin on the fantail (stern) of the R/V Atlantis following a dive. On the right side of the photograph the A-frame crane can be seen that lowers Alvin into the water and on the left, Alvin's hangar. Photo by Taollan82 (Creative Commons)

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