The essential term which binds everyone in DOS is the notion of team, as in team spirit, teamwork. This is part of the company culture.
It means not just that they are part of the same company, whether they are marine crew, management, officers, surveyors, engineers, geophysicists, ROV pilots or other specialists, but that they assist each other in making sure that the projects are completed in a professional and safe manner and the results are those required.
This means that all of the survey team are competent not only in their own specialized field but can also undertake tasks in the maintenance and operation of all the various systems on board such as navigation, ROV, sonar, post-process, video etc.
There is no such thing as marine crew and survey crew, just DOS crew.
The result is a team which is probably unique in the world in the exploration of the deep ocean. Their day job typically is to work in 3000-5800m water depths in locations far from land.
Given the unusual nature of DOS’s activities and the high level of ship availability and technical results expected, the team also need to have a good sense of humour!
