Northern Franklin was built in 1984 as an oceanographic research vessel for Australia's national science agency, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), and was active around Australia conducting Blue Water research until 2002. When the ship was put up for sale, a group of private investors purchased her with the intention of converting her into a private yacht. They sailed Northern Franklin from Hobart, Tasmania to Sweden, and then to a shipyard in Latvia. MMT found her before any modifications were made. In April 2005, MMT bought Northern Franklin, and a technical upgrade of the ship's systems began, along with the installation of various survey systems. MMT operated Northern Franklin under its own management until 2018, when a long-term agreement was made with Northern Survey.

Northern Franklin er egnet til: Geophysical seabed mappingGeotechnical samplingROV operationsEnvironmental assignments