The ship carrying Patania II and other critical equipment departs San Diego (USA) on April 2nd, 2021. Ahead lies a 4½ day, 3200 km, sail to the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. During a team meeting, Patania Project Manager, Kris De Bruyne, reviews the expedition’s objectives.

One of the first tasks of the expedition is a technology validation check of Patania II in the GSR (Belgium-sponsored) contract area to make sure everything is working as it should be. This means making sure Patania II can withstand the extreme pressures of the deep sea and that the vehicle can reach and operate on the seafloor, 4,500 m below the ocean’s surface. Now approaching the first test site, everyone aboard is readying their instruments and equipment. This segment also offers a closer look at Patania II, GSR’s pre-prototype seafloor nodule collector.

One of the first objectives of the campaign is to recover moorings that were deployed three years ago by GSR. The moorings are lined with instrumentation that collect important oceanographic data. Once recovered, the data will be downloaded and will provide information that will help scientists describe the baseline currents and ocean conditions at the field site. The data is also valuable for modelling and predicting environmental effects (e.g., sediment plumes) and for informing further engineering design.

Today, for the first time, Patania is lowered to the seafloor 4500m below for some important technology validation checks. Everyone on the team hopes for a smooth landing. It has taken years of hard work to get to this point…will Patania II make it on the first attempt?

Not only did Patania II make it to the seafloor on the first attempt, the specialised deep-water robot also successfully collects nodules.

Equipment for environmental monitoring is deployed.

The team studies water samples and polymetallic nodules recovered by Patania II to gather data on the environmental effects of deep-seabed mining.

After traversing the seafloor to stir up sediment, Patania II doubles as a sampling device and gets up close with a sediment plume for observation and analysis. The maneuver becomes known as a “selfie”. These studies will help us better understand the nature and characteristics of the sediment plume and give us clues about how to reduce it further.

Joining GSR in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, an international team of scientists arrives on a separate ship to independently monitor Patania II while it conducts trial mining operations. The aim of this exercise is to reduce knowledge gaps and further our collective understanding of the environmental effects of seabed mining operations.

It takes much of the day to recover one of the longest oceanographic moorings (~4 km long) ever deployed. Once recovered, the data contained in numerous pieces of instrumentation will be downloaded and will provide important information that will help scientists describe the baseline currents and ocean conditions at the field site. The data is also valuable for modelling and predicting environmental effects (e.g., sediment plumes) and informing further engineering design.

Patania has proven very adept at collecting nodules. Now the team focuses on optimising the system with the aim of collecting nodules with the lowest level of seafloor disturbance. Several operational parameters are evaluated, and initial results are informative.

Following the completion of a successful trial, Patania II is being recovered from its final dive in the GSR contract area. It is dive number thirteen and the middle of the night when the news arrives that Patania II has separated from its umbilical (power and communications cable) and is heading on its own back to the seafloor, unattached to the ship above. The good news? The team has prepared for potential incidents, including this one.

The Island Pride's Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is sent down to assess Patania II's condition and whether a recovery attempt is possible.

All is ready to attempt one of the most challenging deep-sea recoveries ever. Watch as the talented and experienced crews recover Patania II from the seafloor. Remarkably, the vehicle is undamaged.

Preparations are made to send Patania II on one last descent and monitored field trial, this time in the BGR (German-sponsored) contract area.

The team prepares for the long voyage home, proud of having completed all major expedition objectives safely.