FollowVehicles are usually converted to hybrids for the fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, but the Tsekoa II research ship from the University of Victoria got a plug-in hybrid fuel cell retrofit for an additional reason: reduced noise pollution. The Tsekoa II is a retired Canadian Coast Guard vessel that is being put to work by the University of Victoria to study changing ocean ecosystems and continental shelf dynamics, research that includes studying the noises mammals make under the water. Electric hybrid power not only provides cleaner energy to power the research equipment onboard the Tsekoa II, but it also allows researchers to monitor the ocean’s sounds without diesel engine noise pollution getting in the way.
Funding for the ship’s renovation came in part from a $1.19 million federal grant from Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. In addition to the green retrofit, the funds paid for a new science lab and space for 15 scientists and crewmembers, plus cranes for deploying plankton nets and sonar mapping systems to chart the ocean floor. The Tsekoa II will launch as soon as the retrofit is completed.
Source: inhabitat
