The 285-foot OceanXplorer is living up to its name.
The high-tech research vessel will be the star of a six-part National Geographic docu-series focused on ocean exploration. Aptly titled OceanXplorers, the new show was created in partnership with BBC Studios Natural History Unit, filmmaker James Cameron, and nonprofit ocean research organization OceanX. The episodes follow a team of explorers, scientists, and ocean experts on a global odyssey to solve some of the ocean’s greatest mysteries.
“In OceanXplorers, we take viewers on an unparalleled ocean science adventure, introducing them to a group of principled, passionate people on a sometimes dangerous mission of ocean discovery in real-time,” Cameron said in a statement. “We present the stakes, and firsts, and tell a visually spectacular and dramatic story—a story that inspires the next generation of explorers and adventurers committed to protecting and preserving our oceans.”
The protagonist is, of course, OceanXplorer. The state-of-the-art explorer began life in 2010 as the offshore survey ship Volstad Surveyor before it underwent a two-year refit at Damen in the Netherlands a few years later. Deemed “the most advanced combined marine research and media vessel in existence” by OceanX, OceanXplorer is equipped with multiple laboratories, a media studio designed by Cameron himself, a helicopter, two submersibles that can dive to 3,280 feet, and two remotely operated vehicles that can dive to 19,685 feet. In addition, the vessel is fitted with a 40-ton crane and A-frame to launch the heavy equipment.
OceanXplorer, which embarked on its maiden voyage to the Red Sea in November, can navigate the toughest, most remote waters and help shed light on even the most inaccessible depths of the sea. In the new series, the ship travels to the depths of the Atlantic in the Azores, then heads to the shallows of the Bahamas and warm waters of the Caribbean before cruising north to the frigid arctic shores of Svalbard, Norway. Each episode spotlights marine wonders such as humpback whales, hammerhead sharks, and polar bears. The footage should look top-notch, too: According to OceanX, the cameras on OceanXplorer can shoot in 8K resolution at nearly 20,000 feet below the sea surface.
OceanXplorers episodes will premiere on National Geographic on August 18, August 25, and September 1, with all episodes available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
