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We put the deep ocean within reach.

 Our Vehicles. Your Tools.

NDSF operates a fleet of underwater vehicles that enables the oceanographic community to explore, sample, and map the deep ocean and to meet the needs of a changing research landscape.

HOV ALVIN

A 3-person research submersible capable of reaching 6500 meters depth and of supporting custom sensors and samplers. The Alvin Team delivers reliability built from more than 5,000 successful dives.

ROV JASON

A time-tested remotely operated vehicle system capable of multi-day missions to 6500 meters. Observers get real-time, HD video and data, as well as physical samples from the seafloor.

AUV SENTRY

A flexible, fully autonomous vehicle rated to 6000 meters that carries a wide and growing array of instruments. The Sentry Team is also skilled at carrying out multi-vehicle missions.

Dive with us

Plan an expedition

From proposal preparation to cruise logistics to data access, we help you execute a successful research mission.

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Use cases

Learn how NDSF vehicles can increase data collection and take better advantage of your time at sea.

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First time user?

Learn how our assets can extend your research to depths you may have never thought possible.

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Diving into history

July 22, 2026

The wreck of Capt. Robert F. Scott’s Terra Nova, as seen from the brow cameras of Alvin People often ask me if I have a single favorite dive in Alvin, is there a location or deep-sea environment, or experience that ranks as my number one. But there is never an easy answer to this question.…

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Advances in photogrammetric imaging

July 21, 2026

Over the past 25 years or so I’ve been involved in many projects using remotely operated vehicles to collect high-resolution images of the seafloor and stitch them together to create photomosaics. That process has evolved tremendously during that time, both in the way we acquire the image data and in the way we process the…

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A tale of two vehicles

July 17, 2026

“To be underwater, or not to be underwater? That is the question.”– Hamlet (If Shakespeare had worked in deep submergence) Which is better for scientific research, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) or a human-occupied vehicle (HOV)? The question has been oft debated at sea and in the lab. My own view has oscillated over years…

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Alvin and the shipwreck (not that shipwreck)

July 10, 2026

Notes on the plan of Quest based on observations by the remotely operated vehicle help guide Alvin pilots over the wreck on the seafloor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Alvin is perhaps best known to the public as the sub that first explored the wreck of Titanic. It might come as…

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Heroic Age Expedition to survey two of the world’s most famous shipwrecks

July 2, 2026

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, in partnership with WHOI, will undertake “once-in-a-generation” expedition to survey Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Quest and Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova. Read more >

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Human-occupied submersible Alvin certified to return to service

July 1, 2026

U.S. Navy certification permits the sub to resume operations to 6,500 meters after a routine overhaul. Read more >

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