NEWS

Seven months after it was officially sold, FAU’s only research ship left for South America on Saturday morning.

Its May sale stirred controversy on the Fort Pierce campus, also known as the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at FAU. The administrative side saw the transaction as financially responsible, while the scientific side saw the transaction as a step backward for the campus’s ability to conduct research.

FAU sold the Seward Johnson to Cepemar, a Brazilian environmental agency with offices across the world — including one on the Boca campus — for more than $6 million, according to the contract.

The research vessel Seward Johnson, as it is officially known, is also the only ship on earth capable of carrying the submersible Johnson-Sea-Link out to sea. The submersible, though still owned by FAU, was left on and will remain with the ship.

The Johnson-Sea-Link can hold up to four crew members and dive down more than half a mile.

The contract with Cepemar also states that the Seward Johnson and Johnson-Sea-Link will be available to HBOI researchers 30 days out of each of the next five years. 

After 20 days at sea, the ship will arrive in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Dec. 24.

In January, researchers from Harbor Branch will head to Brazil for their first annual expedition, according to HBOI spokesman Jan Petri.