An Idea Born from a Mop
In the early 1960s, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography faced difficulties using a submarine as a stable platform for acoustic studies. After a conversation between researcher Frederick H. Fisher and lab director Fred N. Spiess, the idea emerged to flip a ship vertically for stability, inspired by the way a Navy mop floated in the waves.
With funding from the U.S. Office of Naval Research and help from naval architects, the project moved quickly. The result was FLIP—the Floating Instrument Platform—launched on June 22, 1962, by the Gunderson Brothers Engineering Company in Portland, Oregon.
A Platform Unlike Any Other
FLIP was 108 meters (355 feet) long and designed to pitch 90 degrees backward by flooding part of its structure. In vertical mode, only the top 17 meters (55 feet) remained above water. The ship’s stability came from buoyancy below the surface wave zone, giving it an advantage for sensitive ocean measurements.
It had no engines and had to be towed, often mistaken at sea for a capsized vessel. FLIP had fixtures that rotated with the ship’s orientation, including flip-down toilet seats and dual-position lighting.
Science in the Vertical
FLIP supported a wide range of research missions, particularly in physical oceanography and underwater acoustics. It recorded sound wave behavior in relation to ocean temperature and internal wave direction. It observed atmospheric interactions at the sea surface and deployed vertical hydrophone arrays for sound studies.
The platform also hosted whale and dolphin monitoring, crustal structure studies with explosive signals, and turbulence mapping. FLIP operated mostly off California and could function for a month at sea with a five-person crew and up to eleven scientists.
Retired, Then Resurrected
FLIP’s final research cruise occurred in late 2017. By 2020, ONR ended funding, and in August 2023, FLIP was towed to Mexico to be scrapped. However, on October 23, 2024, the ocean research organization DEEP announced it had purchased FLIP.
They transported it to La Ciotat, France, for a complete refit expected to take 12 to 18 months. The updated platform will support oceanographic research and assist in deploying DEEP’s underwater Sentinel habitats.
In 1962, a strange vessel launched from Portland, Oregon.
It looked like a ship but could stand on end in the ocean.
Called FLIP, it was designed for stability in open waters by pitching 90 degrees and anchoring its buoyancy below the wave zone using ballast tanks…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/99OqXI9TNY
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 22, 2025