Guidance on proposals with ship time

The U.S. National Science Foundation funds operations of open ocean, coastal, near-shore and Great Lakes platforms used for research and educational programs that are designated University-National Oceanographic Laboratory Systems (UNOLS) operators and vessels in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF). Any proposal submitted to NSF requesting support for research ship time must include a UNOLS Ship-time & Marine Equipment Request Form (SME). 

The SME serves several purposes: 

1. Identifies sea-going field work projects requiring research vessel support. 
2. Enables the Division for Ocean Sciences (OCE) to predict and plan for vessel usage. 
3. Assists ship operators and program managers in preparing ship schedules and cruise logistics. 

The SME can be obtained from the UNOLS website. Any investigator who needs assistance in requesting ship time should contact the UNOLS Office at office@unols.org. 

Principal investigators must allow for sufficient lead time between proposal submission and the expedition itself. For research requesting Global or Ocean class ARF vessels, and especially those needing National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF) assets, the proposal and SME should be submitted at least 18 months before the anticipated time of the first expedition. The timing of the cruise needs to align the work with the study region, along with the necessary ancillary components to enable efficient scheduling. For Intermediate, Regional and Local class vessels, the SME should be submitted with as much lead time as is practical; we recommend doing so at least 12 months before the anticipated time of the first cruise. 

While it is impossible to foresee every possible situation or research opportunity that might occur, as a rule ship time will only rarely be scheduled within 12 months from proposal submission. In general, most ship schedules are finalized by September of the previous year. Highly meritorious NSF Rapid Response Research proposals are notable exceptions that would be handled on a case-by-case basis by the cognizant science, ship operations and facilities program officers in coordination with the ship operator and the principal investigator. 

Once the scientific scope of the research is defined, prospective principal investigators should carefully and realistically consider the technological and logistical requirements of the expedition and align the request for a specific ship and the amount of ship time accordingly. Principal investigators should educate themselves regarding potential scheduling opportunities by contacting ship operating institutions, calling the UNOLS office and/or logging onto the UNOLS scheduling website (accessible with a password provided by UNOLS). Remember to include a copy of your ship time request as a supplementary document in your proposal. 

All funding status updates (i.e., funded, pending or declined) need to be updated in the marine facilities planning (MFP) system by the principal investigator. However, due to restrictions regarding controlled unclassified information, NSF cannot provide proposal status updates to UNOLS. Therefore, if you want to be scheduled, be proactive in updating your SME. We encourage early engagement with your cognizant program officer at NSF, the ship operators and UNOLS office — even before the proposal writing is begun — especially if the project is logistically complex and carries a significant cost.