Kongsberg Discovery equips year-long research voyage with latest technology
Kongsberg Discovery has played a pivotal role in transforming the 111-year-old Statsraad Lehmkuhl into a modern research vessel for the next leg of the One Ocean Expedition, which set sail from Bergen, Norway, on 11 April. Measuring nearly 100 metres, the iconic three-masted barque is Norway’s largest sailing ship. It now carries a comprehensive suite of Kongsberg Discovery technology to support scientific exploration of remote and ecologically significant marine environments, including the storied Northwest Passage.
Among the onboard systems are 75kHz and 300kHz acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), EK80 echosounders, a sophisticated hydrophone cluster and the Seapath GNSS-aided inertial navigation system. Data captured at sea will be processed and shared daily via Blue Insight, Kongsberg Discovery’s advanced platform for ocean data management and analytics. Additional equipment includes weather stations, water samplers, situational awareness and motion reference units, plus various sensors designed to expand the vessel’s research capabilities and contribute to a deeper understanding of the world’s oceans.
Collecting a wealth of data en route
The One Ocean Expedition 2025–2026 is a 12-month voyage encompassing 26 ports across three continents. It will see a crew featuring seasoned scientists, eager students and key stakeholders crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Caribbean. En route, the team will collect a wealth of data to help ascertain ocean health, monitor marine ecosystems and assess the impact of climate change, building both knowledge and awareness of pressing issues.
“It is a great honour to be supporting this crucial expedition with our cutting-edge solutions,” says Martin Wien Fjell, president of Kongsberg Discovery. “The ship will work as a unique data acquisition platform, empowering insights in often remote and little-understood environments, such as the Northwest Passage, while gathering invaluable information about the broader state of ocean health.
“Our systems are perfectly suited to the tasks ahead, performing with proven reliability, optimal precision and high-quality results in even the most demanding conditions. We’re looking forward to setting sail, while also helping the students set sail on their careers as the next generation of ocean scientists and explorers. We believe major discoveries await.”
Technology package
Kongsberg Discovery’s innovations will be put to work on several key assignments, including measuring ocean currents with the ADCP, to help understand how marine life is affected by ocean movements, and recording underwater noise using hydrophones, to ‘listen’ for pollution and monitor marine mammals such as whales.
“The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is an incredible vessel, but to meet the ambitious expedition goals it needed a major technology upgrade,” comments Haakon Vatle, CEO and expedition leader, The One Ocean Expedition. “We’re immensely grateful to Kongsberg Discovery and the Kongsberg Group for their commitment to tailoring a technology package that will allow us to shine light on the depths and unlock a level of understanding that, we hope, can benefit the entire world.”
The One Ocean Expedition sets sail during One Ocean Week in Bergen, calling in at ports including Reykjavik, Nuuk (Greenland), Cambridge Bay (Canada), Seattle, La Paz (Mexico), Cartagena (Columbia), Cadiz and Dublin. During its stop in Nice, France, vessel team members will participate in the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. Statsraad Lehmkuhl will return to Bergen in April 2026, in time for next year’s One Ocean Week.
For further details on the route and expedition, see here.
