Ciências do Mar III

We are a country with one of the world’s largest area of ​​jurisdictional waters. An immense area, equivalent to approximately 50% of our inland territory, in which only Brazil can economically explore. Navigation, genetic heritage and biodiversity, fishing resources, tourism, renewable energy generation and the exploitation of mineral resources make the oceanic margin fundamental for the country’s economy and sovereignty, in addition to climate stability and the environmental quality of the Brazilian coasts. However, today’s greatest challenge is to know this territory in all its complexity in order to explore this potential in a rational, sustainable and socially responsible way.

In 2018, the Ministry of Education, through the Training Program for Human Resources in Marine Sciences (PPGMAR), granted the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) the responsibility for managing one of the four Floating Teaching Laboratories (LEF) – the Ciências do Mar III. These training ships represent a new milestone in the area of ​​marine sciences in Brazil, as they will enable research in all areas of oceanography with a focus on training human resources, generating knowledge and developing technological innovations for the sustainable exploration of our living and non-living marine natural resources.

The purpose of the ship is to serve not only UFF, but also other universities in the SE region with courses in the field of marine sciences. Currently they are: UFRJ (Marine Biology), UERJ (Oceanography), UFES (Oceanography), IFES (Fisheries Engineering), USP (Oceanography), UNIFESP (Marine Science and Technology) and UNESP (Coastal Management).

We understand that the incorporation of this patrimony in the university, at a time when the United Nations (UN) decided that the world will experience the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the so-called “Ocean Decade (2021-2030)”, opens a gigantic window of opportunity for the institution as a whole to project itself as a shining example in the field of oceanic research.

It is challenges and opportunities like this that make UFF one of the main Brazilian universities