{{Short description|Research ship built in 1985}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image=CSIRO ScienceImage 2699 ORV Franklin.jpg | image_caption=''Franklin'' underway in 2000 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header= | country=Australia | flag= {{shipboxflag|Australia|civil}} | name=''Northern Franklin'' | owner= | operator= | registry= | ordered= | builder=NQEA, Cairns | original_cost= | yard_number=110 | way_number= | laid_down= | launched=1985 | completed=March 1985 | christened= | acquired= | maiden_voyage= | in_service= | out_of_service= | identification=*{{IMO Number|8301797}} *{{MMSI|231781000}} | fate= | status= | notes= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career | hide_header=title | name=''Franklin'' | owner= | operator= | registry= *{{flagicon|Faroe Islands|civil}} Faroe Islands (2011-) *{{flagicon|Sweden|civil}} Sweden (??-2011) | route= | acquired= | maiden_voyage= | in_service= | out_of_service= | identification=*Call sign: OZ2102 (2011-) * Call sign: SEIN (??-2011) | fate= | status= | notes= }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header= | header_caption= | class= | type= | tonnage=1,178 tons | displacement= | length={{cvt|55.61|m|ftin}} | beam={{cvt|11.99|m|ftin}} | height= | draught={{cvt|3.8|m|ftin}} | draft= | depth= | decks= | deck_clearance= | ramps= | ice_class= | sail_plan= | power= | propulsion= | speed= | capacity= | crew= | notes= }} }}

'''''Northern Franklin''''', formerly '''RV ''Franklin''''', is an oceanographic and hydrographic research vessel built by NQEA in Cairns, Australia for the CSIRO in 1984 for surveys around Australia. Since 2005 it has operated in European waters by the marine survey operator MMT, based in Sweden.

==History== RV ''Franklin'' was constructed in Cairns, Queensland during 1983-85 at a reported cost of AU$12.2 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/MNF/About/History |accessdate=2025-07-06 |title=Marine National Facility: About Us: History |publisher=CSIRO|year=2025 }}</ref> and was operated by CSIRO as Australia's first Marine National Facility (MNF). It undertook 180 MNF voyages in the Australian region and in the Southern Ocean between 1985 and 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/mnf/about/history/franklin |accessdate=2025-07-06 |title=ORV Franklin: 1985-2002|publisher=CSIRO|year=2025 }}</ref>

In 2003, ''Franklin'' was replaced as the Marine National Facility by the ''Southern Surveyor'' and sold to a group of northern hemisphere private investors, who sold it in 2005 to European marine survey operator MMT, based in Sweden.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-06-04/csiro-denies-it-sold-ship-dirt-cheap/1865612 CSIRO denies it sold ship dirt cheap] ''ABC News'' 4 June 2003</ref> MMT subsequently became part of Ocean Infinity.

As at 2025, the vessel continues to operate in the northern hemisphere for marine survey work, under the name ''Northern Franklin''; its operations are run via the company Northern Survey by arrangement with MMT, sailing under the flag of Denmark.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://northern-survey.com/en/ship/mv-franklin/ |accessdate=2025-07-06 |title=Northern Franklin|first= |last= |publisher=Northern Survey |year=2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://magicport.ai/owners-managers/denmark/northern-survey-aps |accessdate=2025-07-06 |title=Northern Survey APS|first= |last= |publisher=MagicPort |year=2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://magicport.ai/vessels/offshore/northern-franklin-mmsi-219028268 |accessdate=2025-07-06 |title=Northern Franklin|first= |last= |publisher=MagicPort |year=2025 }}</ref>

==Science data access== Access to science data from 180 MNF-associated voyages of the ''Franklin'' is provided via the "Data Trawler" application of the CSIRO NCMI (National Collections and Marine Infrastructure) Information and Data Centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cmar.csiro.au/data/trawler/survey_list.cfm?q=&source_id=5 |title=Survey List for Franklin |accessdate=21 April 2026 |publisher=CSIRO }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category-inline}} *[https://marlin.csiro.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/search?facet.q=source%2FShip%253A%2520Franklin&resultType=csiro MarLIN metadata records for datasets originating on RV ''Franklin''] as held at CSIRO Information and Data Centre (624 items as at July 2025); other data may be held separately at additional science agencies within Australia (per the affiliations of the investigators concerned) *Description of [https://research.csiro.au/ncmi-idc/information/marine-national-facility-datasets/ standard MNF (Marine National Facility) data streams], comprising some or all of the following: the underway data suite (Navigation (NAV), Sounder, Thermosalinograph (TSG) and Meteorological (MET) data), Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD), Hydrology (salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients), Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), multibeam and singlebeam echosounders, sub-bottom profiler and catch records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin}} Category:1985 ships Category:Ships built in Queensland Category:Research vessels of Australia Category:CSIRO

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