Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus is owned and operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established to explore the world’s oceans to seek out new discoveries in the fields of geology, biology, maritime history, archaeology, and chemistry.

OET was founded in 2008 by Dr. Robert Ballard to engage in pure ocean exploration. Inspired by Ballard’s discovery of the wreck of the Titanic and the first discovery of hydrothermal vents, it is our organization-wide mission to develop and utilize technologies that enable us to push the boundaries of ocean exploration and to share these discoveries with global audiences through around-the-clock telepresence and immersive resources for students and educators.

The ship is operated by 17 permanent crew members in addition to 33 berths for members of the rotating Corps of Exploration, including scientists, engineers, educators, and artists from around the world who serve as role models for the next generation of explorers interested in STEM career pathways.

E/V Nautilus is homeported at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California. Since 2008, Nautilus has explored waters across the world, moving from the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and crossing through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean in 2015. Her current focus is on exploration throughout the Pacific Ocean. OET’s mobile exploration systems — assets that are deployed from other vessels and from shore — are available for deployment throughout North American waters, including the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.

Nautilus was built in 1967 in East Germany as a fisheries research vessel under the original name Georgius Agricola, before becoming Alexander Von Humboldt, and eventually being procured and retrofitted into a deep-sea exploration vessel in 2008 by OET.