On Friday (18 July) the Marine Institute marked the third anniversary of its state-of-the-art research vessel, the RV Tom Crean.
Since arriving in Galway Harbour on 18 July 2022, the RV Tom Crean has enabled the Marine Institute to carry out vital surveys that contribute to Ireland’s position as a leader in marine science.
Over the past three years, the RV Tom Crean has spent 864 days at sea, and sailed 103,192 nautical miles — equivalent to almost 20 round trips between Galway and New York.
The marine research activities conducted aboard include fish stock assessment surveys, seabed mapping including marine spatial planning, ocean climate studies and environmental monitoring. The vessel has also served as a training platform for students from Irish institutions, supporting the development of the next generation of marine scientists.
The RV Tom Crean has enabled Ireland’s seabed mapping programme, INFOMAR, to map 20,135 square kilometres of the seafloor in the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, an area greater than the whole of Leinster.
Over 234 survey days aboard the vessel, INFOMAR has comprehensively mapped Ireland’s seabed, advancing our understanding of our marine territory.
“As the RV Tom Crean marks its third year of service, it continues to play a pivotal role in advancing marine science in Ireland,” Marine Institute chief executive Dr Rick Officer said. “With its state-of-the-art capabilities and the expertise of its dedicated crew and scientists, the vessel enables Ireland to carry out world-class research — deepening our understanding of the ocean, and providing the critical knowledge needed to sustainably manage our valuable marine resource.”
In August 2024, the RV Tom Crean was equipped with a new in-situ remote sensing instrument, the Imaging Flow Cytobot, during the Marine Institute’s annual phytoplankton coastal survey.
The instrument can image up to 10,000 plankton species per seawater sample and transmit images in near real-time to the Marine Institute’s laboratory. This significantly enhances the institute’s ability to detect and observe harmful algal bloom events offshore, enabling advanced warnings for aquaculture operations.
The RV Tom Crean opened to the public in May 2025 for the European Maritime Days to Play festival in Cork Harbour. More than 4,500 people stepped aboard to explore the research vessel and speak with scientists about the research undertaken at sea.
Track the location of the RV Tom Crean and the Marine Institute’s other research vessels on marine.ie. For updates on the research surveys facilitated by Ireland’s marine research vessels, follow the Marine Institute’s Scientist@Sea blog, @MarineInst on X, @MarineInstitute on Facebook, @MarineInstituteIreland on Instagram and @MarineInstitute on LinkedIn.
