A new six-part docuseries called OceanXplorers will be coming to Nat Geo on August 18. The ship at the centre of the series is an 87-metre research vessel-explorer yacht hybrid called OceanXplorer, which started life as a commercial ship built by Spanish yard Freire and undertook a two-year refit at Dutch yard Damen.
On board, OceanXplorer has a state-of-the-art research station with both wet and dry labs, a Hollywood-level media production studio and a forward helicopter landing deck with climate-controlled hangar. The vessel also hosts piloted and autonomous underwater drones and two manned Triton submersibles, each of which can dive to depths exceeding 1,000 metres.
The vessel and the docuseries have been spearheaded by non-profit OceanX, a company founded by American investor and bestselling author Ray Dalio. He said: "The ship OceanXplorer will take ocean explorers to never-before-seen undersea worlds and allow them to beam back what they encounter via social media, digital experiences, and a TV show."
Dalio is also the owner of OceanXplorer. He later added: "The six-part series is like a modern-day version of the Jacques Cousteau series that inspired me when I was young".
Dalio's son, OceanX founder and creative director, Mark Dalio, said: "OceanXplorer will allow us to pair science and media together like never before and share the excitement and wonder of ocean exploration with a global audience in real time."
OceanXplorers will premiere August 18 on National Geographic and all episodes will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
You can learn more about the story of the OceanXplorer in our exclusive feature.
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