Instrument: ROV Lu'ukai

The UH remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Lu'ukai is a small work-class ROV that can be operated from the R/V Kilo Moana to conduct investigations in waters up to 6,000 meters deep. After beginning operations in early 2018, the Lu'ukai has supported a study of deep-sea biodiversity and ecological processes in the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area where numerous manganese nodule mining exploration claims are located; has maintained and upgraded sensors at the ALOHA Cabled Observatory, the world's deepest operating ocean observatory; and has recovered a failed telecommunications cable used to support acoustic research in local waters.