of the seas around Bermuda.

Excited scientists are expecting a whole range of species of marine life to be discovered by the Remotely Operated Vehicle (R.O.V.).

It will delve deeper into the ocean more often than any human diver or manned submarine.

There are literally thousands of organisms swimming around in the deeper seas around the Island but only a fraction have been confirmed with sightings. Not only can ROV explore this marine life but it will be able to seek out lost wrecks and help with practical uses like damaged pipelines.

The Bermuda Biological Station for Research bought the Hydroboot 1000 ROV because it worked out cheaper than having to rent it a number of times. The Bio Station can now add any functions to the submarine structure it wishes.

The ROV has the capability to film in colour or black and white and can be adapted to take samples of life by various methods. This has been impossible in the past because the organisms are so delicate that they break up in fishing nets.

First users of the Bio Station ROV were a group of scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, who set off for the Sargasso sea yesterday.

The team is looking at the phenomenon of "sea snow'' carbon deposits which are a major feature of underwater scenes off the Bermuda coast, but they will also be seeking life-forms new to local waters.

It includes Dr. Mary Silver from the University of California in Santa Cruz, Dr. Cindy Pilskaln from the institute and Mr. Jim McFarlane the world's top ROV pilot.

Dr. Silver said: "There is an absolute abundance of organisms out in the North Atlantic and there has never been a survey of what is out there at depths like 1,500 feet.'' Mr. McFarlane is expected to teach the Bio Station to get the best possible results from the new ROV. He will show how to follow and zoom in on particular creatures.

Showing a video of some of the discoveries made in Monterey he said: "We saw things in Monterey which should not have been there. With the ROV a lot of textbooks can be thrown out of the window.'' Dr. Tony Knap, at the Bio Station, is clearly delighted with the new device.

Dr. Knap said: "We have the basic framework of the ROV and we can add pieces to it. It has never really been tested in the open ocean before. Bermuda is the perfect place and Cindy is hoping to bring a lot of her experiments here.'' Education will also benefit from the ROV which is expected to be an extension to the Jason Project.

Dr. Knap said: "We can make video links with the Jason Project so children can see what the ROV is showing us.

"This ROV is already being sent to Belize for the Jason Project there and this will mean it will get worldwide publicity.' The Bio Station bought the ROV at a lower than normal price from Hydrobotics Engineering of Canada. The company is hoping its high profile will convince other people to buy similar devices.

Director Ms Harriet Waterman was on board Weatherbird II to check out how the machines was behaving.

Dr. Knap believes the ROV has now opened a wide range of opportunities for education and science in Bermuda.

He said: "It will help to encourage people to understand a bit more about the importance of the local ocean environment.

"We can even do fun things like look for wrecks which no-one has ever seen before.'' Dr. Knap says the ROV is only a stopgap for the station's research and a bigger machine will be purchased later.