Voyages

NIWA leads many ocean research voyages from the tropical waters of the Pacific to Antarctica, on our world-class environmental monitoring and research vessels.

  • Chinese and New Zealand Scientists dive to one of the ocean's deepest regions

    Media release
    Scholl Deep is the deepest known point of the Kermadec Trench, which lies to the north of New Zealand.
  • 2022 - Tonga post-eruption

    A NIWA led voyage from 9 April to May 2022 to the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga.
  • 2022 - Tasman Sea tsunami

    Voyage
    You’ll be blown away by what these women in science are doing onboard RV Tangaroa in the Tasman sea!
  • NIWA-Nippon Seabed Mapping Project a “rare opportunity” to study effects of Tonga eruption

    Media release
    NIWA and The Nippon Foundation are undertaking a mission to discover the undersea impacts of the recent Tongan volcanic eruption.
  • 2022 - Chatham Trawl Survey

    Voyage
    The NIWA research ship Tangaroa was chartered by the Ministry of Primary Industries to survey the hoki fishery on the Chatham Rise during January 2022.
  • 2021 - Kaikōura Canyon

    Voyage
    Kaikōura Canyon reveals its muddy secrets
  • 2021 - Macquarie Ridge

    Voyage
    RV Tangaroa has sailed to the Macquarie Ridge to under charter by Australia’s CSIRO Marine National Facility to recover ocean bottom seismometers and acquire multibeam sonar and sub‐bottom profile data in the Macquarie Island region.
  • Study discovers microplastics in New Zealand’s seabed

    Media release
    A pilot study carried out by NIWA and the University of Auckland has found microplastics in samples collected from the seafloor in the Marlborough Sounds.
  • Lost scientific buoy recovered from Kāpiti seafloor

    News article
    Researchers have recovered a scientific buoy from the Kāpiti Marine Reserve that went missing in late March.
  • 2021 - Hikurangi margin

    Voyage
    Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle helping scientists collect the latest earthquake data.
  • Iceberg in the Ross Sea.

    2021 - Antarctic Voyage

    RV Tangaroa undertook a 45-day voyage to the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea in January-February, 2021.
  • NIWA heads to Antarctica for critical climate, ocean research

    Media release
    NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa leaves soon on a six-week voyage to Antarctica, making it one of the few full scientific expeditions to the continent since the global outbreak of COVID-19.