RV
Franklin was constructed in Cairns,
Queensland during 1983-85 at a reported cost of AU$12.2 million 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. 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. 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. ==Science data access==