This strange ship is designed to take on 700 tons of seawater and partly sink to carry out ocean research

pulse

September 12, 2017 3:32 PM

It's often mistaken for a sinking ship by passing boats.

This strange looking 355 foot-long ship is designed to partly capsize to carry out ocean research.

The RP FLIP – short for Floating Instrument Platform – was created by the US Navy in 1962 and it is still used to this day to carry out naval research.

The vessel safely capsizes itself by opening valves at the stern, making the bow rise up in the air. Ballast inside the stern helps to keep the RP FLIP upright even during heavy waves.

The inside of the ship looks particularly strange, as each utility requires two configurations. This means that there are two showers, two doors, and two sinks at 90-degree angles from each other in a lot of the rooms.

The RP FLIP can house a crew of five people as well as 15 researchers to carry out tests while the vessel is upright.

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