During the Pioneer 23 expedition, the OOI-CGSN team achieved a major engineering and recovery milestone by successfully retrieving the remaining lower section of the Southeastern Profiler Mooring (SEPM), which had gone adrift during a severe storm in 2025.
After the surface buoy was recovered by the R/V Neil Armstrong in August 2025, the bottom half of the mooring system—including the valuable wire-following profiler vehicle—remained on the seafloor. On this cruise, the team deployed the OOI remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to complete the challenging subsea recovery.
Andy Robinson and Chris Basque, with support from Sam Dahlberg, piloted the ROV to locate the mooring components and attach a recovery line. Meanwhile, Jim Ryder and Nico Llanos coordinated the successful retrieval of the system back onto the deck of the R/V Neil Armstrong.
The ROV’s advanced capabilities—including high-definition cameras, forward-looking sonar, and a multifunction manipulator—were critical to the success of this complex operation.
Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
Recent Updates