The JSL and Seward Johnson were not brought into the UNOLS inventory without significant opposition. They’re addition was made at significant cost to both other ongoing programs that had to make room at the NSF rice bowl for a large and expensive facility and at the expense of the future development of more modern and efficient approaches like Deep Rover, WASP, MANTIS, DEEP FLIGHT, etc.

The sub’s control system was archaic and demanded an incredible level of pilot skill, especially with coupled with the JSL’s lack of thrust and rather high mass. The best thing about the JSL was the engineering shop that built it’s sampling systems, I truly wish that they could have been routinely turned loose on some more modern and efficient manned diving systems, the equipment that they built which we used on Deep Rover was amazing.

But I’ll miss her just the same.

I am based in the Gulf of Mexico, which is in trouble, as I understand it, because several ships have gone offline recently. ROVs go down on oil platforms everyday, but none for science. It’s heartbreaking to lose another vessel and sub.

The idea that no one wants to use the JSLs is false. I have one grant proposal that received a comment in reviews saying “only the JSL could do this work”. I was not funded, but received some positive comments. A call for proposals specific to the JSL would receive dozens of submissions from researchers, I am quite sure.