English: The RV Southern Surveyor Marine National Facility is owned and managed by CSIRO, and its operations are funded by the Australian Government to enable oceanographic, geo-scientific, fishery and ecosystem research. The ship is chartered by marine scientists to explore and study Austalia's oceans. Access to the Marine National Facility has always been open to Australian researchers and their international collaborators, and is allocated on the basis of scientific merit. An active blue-water marine research vessel is essential in order to provide the capacity to:

• accurately and rapidly detect and predict changes in the ocean environment
• monitor coastal ecosystems and living resources
• investigate and assess the unique marine geology surrounding Australia