Expert explorers: (From left) Rodrigue, OceanX co-chief executive officer and founder Mark Dalio, and Maizah posing in front of a submersible aboard OceanXplorer.
THE two weeks spent aboard the world’s most advanced exploration, research and media vessel – OceanX’s OceanXplorer – saw 23 Malaysian scientists unearthing multiple new findings.
This took place along the coast of Pahang, specifically off Kuantan’s coast and around Pulau Tioman, says OceanX Malaysia Mission 2024 lead scientist Assoc Prof Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah.
Among their findings was the discovery of many more mesophotic coral reefs (located between 30m and 150m below sea level) than they had initially suspected existed around Pulau Tioman.
Speaking to reporters during a media tour of the non-profit initiative vessel on Oct 22, Maizah, who is a marine biology researcher at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), said this marked the first time Malaysian researchers had conducted a detailed mesophotic biodiversity assessment in Pahang waters.
Describing the equipment and capabilities of the ship as a “Disneyland for researchers”, she added that this was the first time researchers from UMT had conducted marine scientific research using a vessel with an external partner.
“Using the artificial intelligence (AI) tools available, we could work faster and by the end of the mission, we had finished identifying the myriad of organisms living around the reefs,” she shared.
They also found coral reefs recovering from a recent coral bleaching event due to warming waters, as well as the presence of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.
“There were over 120 dolphins together with their offspring, signalling a healthy ecosystem,” she said, adding that their detection was done using a new research method known as environmental DNA (eDNA), which is the genetic material shed by organisms in the water column, along with aerial observations by helicopter.
Working with eDNA was just one of many advanced tools available onboard.
The vessel also contains two Triton submersibles, an underwater manoeuvrable remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and fully equipped dry and wet laboratories.
Maizah said it usually takes weeks or months to complete research on campus after collecting samples from the seas.
However, with the state-of-the-art equipment available onboard, they could complete their findings within a day or a few days.
“We have identified locations that we can revisit later with other resources for further studies,” said Maizah.
The team is working on analysing the data and communicating the findings to the Pahang state government and other stakeholders in support of marine conservation and climate change mitigation.
OceanX science programme director Mattie Rodrigue said the 33-core-member vessel plans to be in South-East Asia for at least the next five years “because of all the biodiversity in the region”.
“We also realised that many researchers and students could really benefit from access to the types of tools that we have, which whole government agencies do not have access to in most of the areas where we operate.
“We welcomed aboard a variety of scientific researchers from Malaysia and worked together to build a really fantastic scientific expedition.
In two weeks, we took on eight different research teams, 17 different research proposals, and a key component of all this was capacity building,” she said.
Rodrigue, who joined the project in 2019 and has been sailing with OceanXplorer since 2020, explained that the vessel was originally an offshore oil and gas ocean tender that was refitted.
“It was purchased and turned into a force for good for the environment,” she said, adding that it is bigger than their previous research vessel, Alucia.
The OceanX Malaysia Mission 2024, which began on Sept 27, was conducted in three phases in partnership with the Pahang state government and research partners from UMT, International Islamic University Malaysia and New York University Abu Dhabi, with the support of the Malaysian government and the Malaysia Ocean Research Alliance.
A total of 16 stations were officially established for the long-term monitoring programme for future ocean research, including studies on ocean acidification and isoscapes in Malaysia.
In addition to the research at sea, OceanX hosted several educational tours on the vessel in Port Klang, reaching more than 200 students and educators.
The tours aimed to provide local students with an opportunity to visit the vessel, experience its capabilities up close, and better understand potential ocean-related career paths.
