For 8 weeks, 44 people called RV Tangaroa their home as they went on the International Polar Year (IPY) voyage to the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Making up the 44 were 18 crew, 24 scientists and 2 people from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).
The crew included the ship’s officers – the captain, first mate, second mate and an ice pilot (who took charge of navigating the ship when there was ice in the water). They looked after the smooth running of the ship, navigation and the ship’s safety. There were two engineers who kept the ship’s large diesel engines, electrical and water systems working. In the galley, there were two cooks and a steward who were responsible for providing meals for everybody on board – no easy task with 44 hungry people! The deck crew were responsible for handling all the equipment on deck – deploying and retrieving the scientific instruments over the side of the ship and driving all the winches and cranes. There was also a doctor on board, which was important when the crew was so far from land.
The scientists on board had a wide range of scientific interests and were split into a number of teams. The benthic team studied the organisms that live on the seafloor. The fish team, who investigated the fish life in the Ross Sea, was organised into two groups – one assessed the number of fish and the other identified the species of fish that were caught during the voyage. There was also a team that conducted research on the biodiversity of viruses, bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton (the really small organisms) that live in the water. There were also 3 staff whose job it was to look after all the electronic and computer equipment, including running the multibeam sounder that was used to map the seafloor. The scientific team members came from NIWA, Te Papa, Victoria University of Wellington and The University of Waikato. There was also one scientist from the United States and one from Italy.
LINZ personnel included the LINZ representative who assisted the documentary and filmmaker from Natural History New Zealand.
This is a list of all the personnel who went on the IPY voyage:
Electronics and multibeam team
John Mitchell - Voyage Leader (NIWA)
Stephen Robbins (NIWA)
Arne Pallentin (NIWA)
The fish team
Stuart Hanchet – Science Leader, Fish team (NIWA)
Gavin Macaulay (NIWA)
Peter McMillan (NIWA)
Darren Stevens (NIWA)
Chris Jones (NOAA)
Richard O'Driscoll (NIWA)
Chaz Marriott (NIWA)
Brent Wood (NIWA)
Andrew Stewart (Te Papa)
Benthic team
Dave Bowden (NIWA)
Kareen Schnabel (NIWA)
Matt Knox (Waikato University)
Malcolm Clark (NIWA)
Sadie Mills (NIWA)
Steve George (NIWA)
Niki Davey (NIWA)
Stefano Schiaparelli (Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse)
Pelagic team
Julie Hall, Pelagic team, Education (NIWA)
Els Maas (NIWA)
Stu Pickmere (NIWA)
Lisa Bryant (Victoria University)
Doctor and film crew
Jenny Vissor - Doctor (Consultant)
Max Quinn - Documentary and filmmaker (Natural History New Zealand)
Stacey Mulgrew – LINZ Representative (MFish)
Vessel Personnel
Officers
Andrew Leachman - Master (NIWA) Vessels
Robert Graham - Ice Pilot (Consultant)
Evan Solly - 1st Mate (NIWA) Vessels
Brent White - 2nd Mate (NIWA) Vessels
Engineers
Alfred Memelink - Chief Engineer (NIWA) Vessels
Lindsay Battersby - 2nd Engineer (NIWA) Vessels
Galley
Kim Ashby - Cook (NIWA) Vessels
Brian Samuels - 2nd Cook (NIWA) Vessels
Frances Parker - Steward (NIWA) Vessels
Deckcrew
Glen Walker - Leading Hand (NIWA) Vessels
Mike Steele - Bosun (NIWA) Vessels
Stephen Bailey - Boatdriver (NIWA) Vessels
Shane Harvey - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels
Ian Smith - Deckhand (NIWA)Vessels
Edmund Fox - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels
Andrew Williams - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels
Dylan Bennett - Deckhand (NIWA) Vessels
