The next time you take a cruise on the Caribbean, or ride a ferry as part of your daily commute, you could be aboard a vessel that is participating in groundbreaking oceanographic research. While you are sipping a cocktail on deck or reading the newspaper headlines in the galley, a unique through-hull monitoring system called the SeaKeeper 1000™ may be diligently sampling, measuring, recording, and transmitting valuable water quality information via satellite to oceanographic researchers around the world. 

Developed by The International SeaKeepers Society in 1998, the SeaKeeper 1000™ is a self-contained underway sampling system that can easily be mounted through the hull of any ocean-going vessel. Its award-winning design incorporates “plug and play” technology that allows a variety of sensors to be used interchangeably, and simplifies maintenance and recalibration. In 2009, the SeaKeepers agreed to license the patented SeaKeeper 1000™ system exclusively to YSI Incorporated, forging an alliance that has fostered tremendous advances in the understanding of the character and condition of the world’s oceans.

To date, more than ninety SeaKeeper 1000™ units have been installed on ferries, yachts, cruise ships, buoys and piers around the world – helping us better understand, and become more effective caretakers of, ocean ecosystems around the world. This past summer, the SeaKeeper 1000™ was mounted aboard a ferry that crosses Delaware Bay as part of a research project aiming to improve the understanding and management of the Delaware Estuary. With up to eight crossings a day, the water quality information gathered by the ferry’s SeaKeeper system has already exceeded 40 years of previous monitoring and sampling data collected by specially commissioned research cruises.

One of the biggest benefits of the SeaKeeper monitoring system is the enormous cost savings realized by eliminating the need for hiring expensive research teams. The SeaKeeper 1000™ can quickly be installed on any ship of opportunity and start delivering valuable data for a tiny fraction of the cost of a single research trip – which can cost upwards of one million dollars. The design of the SeaKeeper requires minimal maintenance, allowing any ship operator – from cruise lines and yacht owners  to governments and commercial shipping lines – to contribute to global ocean conservation efforts.

In addition to the SeaKeeper 1000™, YSI now offers a simplified portable underway sampling unit for smaller vessels. To find out more about the SeaKeeper product line, download the archived YSI SeaKeeper Webinar here.