Glomar Challenger
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Glomar Challenger |
| Owner | Global Marine Inc. |
| Builder | Levingston Shipbuilding Company, Orange, Texas |
| Laid down | October 18, 1967 |
| Launched | March 23, 1968 |
| Acquired | August 11, 1968 |
| In service | 1968 |
| Out of service | 1983 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6904636 |
| Fate | Scrapped, c. 1983 in NYC Shipyard |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Deep sea drilling platform |
| Length | 400 ft (120 m) |
| Beam | 65 ft (20 m) |
| Draft | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Endurance | 90 days |
| Sensors & processing systems | ITT Model 4007AB Satellite Navigation System |
| Notes | Could drill to a depth of 22,500 ft (6,900 m), in a water depth of up to 20,000 ft (6,100 m). |
The Glomar Challenger was a deep-sea research and scientific drilling vessel designed for oceanography and marine geology studies. It was used in the Deep Sea Drilling Project for obtaining sediment cores from the ocean floor.
The drillship was designed, owned, and operated by Global Marine Incorporated (now Transocean) specifically for a long term contract with the American National Science Foundation and University of California Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It was built by Levingston Shipbuilding Company in Orange, Texas and launched on March 23, 1968.
Glomar is a truncation of Global Marine, while the name Glomar Challenger is a tribute to the 19th century oceanographic survey vessel HMS Challenger.