University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System

The University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) is a group of academic institutions and National Laboratories organized in the United States to coordinate research vessel use for federally funded ocean research. The UNOLS office is currently located at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.

The UNOLS system grew from the recognition during the rapid expansion of oceanographic activity that there was no organized means of coordinating ship time requests of researchers, particularly those from institutions not operating vessels and that more expensive ships were not the answer. Federal research sponsors were concerned about more effective use of those expensive assets. Even though a more formal National Oceanographic Laboratory system was not established the less formal and less federally controlled cooperative system of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System was established. The form this took lay between federal control of the fleet and uncoordinated use of the often federally owned research vessels at the institutions. UNOLS was chartered in 1971 to coordinate and support federally funded oceanographic research through efficient usage of the fleet.

UNOLS goes beyond simple coordination of fleet activities. The system has developed standards and standard practices in cost accounting, reports, information services, shipboard equipment and services, foreign visit clearances, safety and coordinates on new vessel acquisition. In that last area UNOLS has played a part in influencing designs to most effectively support the mission. This has influenced the design of most U.S. and some foreign research vessels.

Federal support for and cooperation with UNOLS is found in the National Science Foundation (NSF), Office of Naval Research (ONR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and other agencies.

The majority of the ships are owned by federal agencies and the ships are available to all federally funded researchers. Federal agencies also utilize excess ship time in fulfilling some of their ship based requirements.

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