KAIMEI
Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2025 9:03 am
KAIMEI was built as a research vessel by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Machinery, Shimonoseki, Japan, for JAMSTEC,
Japan. Her keel was laid down on January 22, 2015, and she was launched as the KAIMEI on June 7, 2015 by
cutting the rope by Her Royal Highness Princess Yoshiko.
KAIMEI was officially delivered to her owners on March 4,2016, and registered in Yokosuka, Japan. IMO 9712448.
She is a cutting-edge research vessel that can effectively conduct wide-area surveys of the seafloor, such as the
distribution of seafloor resources, and can also conduct comprehensive scientific surveys to understand the formation
environment of minerals and mineral deposits.
Equipped with cutting-edge research equipment, she has an offshore laboratory function that can analyze collected
samples in a fresh state. She also functions as a generalpurpose research vessel, contributing to research on climate
change and research on disaster prevention and mitigation against earthquakes and tsunamis.
She can perform a variety of mission such as:
• Wide-area surveys of seafloor resource distribution and comprehensive scientific surveys to understand the formation environments of minerals and mineral deposits.
• Understanding changes in the atmosphere and ocean environment related to global climate change and elucidating
paleoenvironmental changes.
• Exploration of sub-ocean crustal structure, research into disaster prevention and mitigation against earthquakes
and tsunamis.
She is equipped with a 3,000m class ROV, multi-beam echo sounder (12/50kHz), multi-layer current direction and
velocity meter (38/150kHz), acoustic positioning device, shipboard gravity meter and magnetometer, CTD and water
sampling device, sample analysis and experiment equipment, meteorological and other atmospheric observation
equipment, container laboratory for sample analysis and experiment.
Sources: Watercraft
Japan. Her keel was laid down on January 22, 2015, and she was launched as the KAIMEI on June 7, 2015 by
cutting the rope by Her Royal Highness Princess Yoshiko.
KAIMEI was officially delivered to her owners on March 4,2016, and registered in Yokosuka, Japan. IMO 9712448.
She is a cutting-edge research vessel that can effectively conduct wide-area surveys of the seafloor, such as the
distribution of seafloor resources, and can also conduct comprehensive scientific surveys to understand the formation
environment of minerals and mineral deposits.
Equipped with cutting-edge research equipment, she has an offshore laboratory function that can analyze collected
samples in a fresh state. She also functions as a generalpurpose research vessel, contributing to research on climate
change and research on disaster prevention and mitigation against earthquakes and tsunamis.
She can perform a variety of mission such as:
• Wide-area surveys of seafloor resource distribution and comprehensive scientific surveys to understand the formation environments of minerals and mineral deposits.
• Understanding changes in the atmosphere and ocean environment related to global climate change and elucidating
paleoenvironmental changes.
• Exploration of sub-ocean crustal structure, research into disaster prevention and mitigation against earthquakes
and tsunamis.
She is equipped with a 3,000m class ROV, multi-beam echo sounder (12/50kHz), multi-layer current direction and
velocity meter (38/150kHz), acoustic positioning device, shipboard gravity meter and magnetometer, CTD and water
sampling device, sample analysis and experiment equipment, meteorological and other atmospheric observation
equipment, container laboratory for sample analysis and experiment.
Sources: Watercraft