October 1, 2016
Preparations in Beirut
Today we met with everyone involved in the expedition: the Lebanese government, the Navy Hydrographic Service, the CNRS, the IUCN and the RAC/SPA.
We are agreeing the programme, protocols and other relevant arrangements before beginning the expedition. Meanwhile, our ship’s agent is handling the paperwork so we can start to operate at sea as soon as possible.
Until we leave the port we will be working on the equipment: ROV, microscope, CTD, winch, computers, connections, etc. Today and tomorrow we will spend most of the time on the preparations to make sure everything is ready.
While we are still in port we will also contact other scientists who are working in the area and whom we are going to meet afterwards. And we won’t miss the opportunity to collaborate with the Beirut pilots. Our divers are checking the propellers of their boat to verify their condition and investigate the possibility of solving the problems they have with these.