Exploration Of Coast

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31904, 4 February 1969, Page 6

Exploration Of Coast

A deep-sea submersible is being used this month in a joint Australian - Japanese study of the sea-bed off northern Australia and along the Great Barrier Reef. The Japanese submersible Yomiuri under tow by its mother ship Yamoto arrived in Australia last month. “Australia will pay part of the operating costs, and will share scientific data, in what will be a unique study of the Australian sea-bed,” the Commonwealth Minister for National Development (Mr Fairbain) said recently.

"The Bureau of Mineral Resources is drawing up a joint programme of research with the Japanese scientists who will accompany the submersible to Australia. “A team from the bureau will use the Yomiuri for a programme of basic research on the geology of the continental shelf.

“It will also study the structure of the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. “In addition, it will provide the opportunity for 11 other Australian scientists to conduct individual research projects including studies of seabed sediments the biology of life on and near the reef and the crown of thorns pest.” The Bureau of Mineral Resources and the group of Australian scientists will have the use of the Yomiuri for one month each, while the Japansese scientific team will conduct research and photography in Australian waters for a further two months, says the “Australian Fisheries Newsletter.” Newspaper Owner The Yomiuri is owned by a Japanese newspaper of the same name. It will be the first time the Japanese submersible, built in 1964, has operated in overseas waters. The research programme will be conducted in the Arafura Sea, Torres Strait and the Great Barrier Reef area.

During the Barrier Reef studies, the Yomiuri and its mother ship will operate from Townsville and Gladstone. All information obtained by Australian and Japanese scientists will be shared and published.

The studies of the Great Barrier Reef area began early this month. The submersible, or bathy-

scaphe, displaces 35 tons, and is about 45 feet long. It can reach depths approaching 900 feet. Yomiuri has a conventional diesel-electric power-plant, and a battery-driven screw for underwater travelling. Submerged, it has a speed of about two knots. It operates independently of the mother ship and normally remains submerged for about four hours at a time. Its endurance in emergency is 60 hours. Crew Of Four The submersible carries a crew of four and two scientific observers on each descent. There are seven observation ports, and external grasping equipment in the form of a mechanical hand which is capable of picking up rocks and other specimens or catching fish. Since is was delivered in July, 1964, the submersible has made some 350 dives, totalling more than 1000 hours of under-sea research.

In August, 1964, the Yomiuri made a one-hour direct telecast from 150 feet down in waters near Tokyo. The programme was transmitted live to Japanese homes on the commercial television network of Nippon Television Network Corporation, a sister-company of the newspaper which owns the submersible.