MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

RRS Sir David Attenborough docks in Falklands: Saturday begins Antarctic round at Rothera Base

The state of the art ice breaker was commissioned by NERC, built by Cammell Laird for operation by British Antarctic Survey

Falkland Islands RRS Sir David Attenborough has arrived to the Islands, and docked at East Cove, and is scheduled to leave for the Rothera Base on Saturday, beginning the Antarctica campaign.

 The state of the art ice breaker was commissioned by NERC, built by Cammell Laird for operation by British Antarctic Survey. The commissioning of the RRS Sir David Attenborough is part of a major British Government investment in polar infrastructure which will keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic. This £200m commitment represents the UK Government's ‘s largest investment in polar science since the 1980s.

The UK government further invested in polar science when Industry and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani announced this year £45 million in funding to maintain the UK’s state-of-the-art fleet of research vessels.

The contract, awarded to Babcock International by the Natural Environment Research Council, is a key component of the government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, boosting investment in the prestigious UK shipbuilding industry.

Maintenance and upgrades will be carried out on RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery, and RRS James Cook. These 3 ships conduct innovative scientific research into our oceans and polar regions, and support scientists tackling global issues such as climate change and pollution.

The initial 3-year contract, with additional 2-year option, will see the large oceanographic and polar research vessels dock at Babcock’s state-of-the-art facilities in Rosyth, Scotland, for programmed maintenance and upgrade work.

Babcock Rosyth is a leading provider of maritime support, and where maintenance, repairs and upgrades are also carried out on the UK Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers. The RRS Sir David Attenborough will be testing a new artificial intelligence system which will help chart the most environmentally-friendly route at any given time.

Measuring 129 meters in length and with a range of 19,000 nautical miles, it accommodates up to 90 crew, scientists, and support staff, and will enable research of the oceans, seafloor, ice and atmosphere.

The RRS Discovery (2013) and RRS James Cook (2006) are operated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). They conduct oceanic exploration around the world, undertaking multi-disciplinary marine science to unlock the mysteries of the deep ocean.

All 3 research ships use state-of-the-art technologies such as autonomous underwater vehicles, including the famous NOC Autosub called Boaty McBoatface.

Boaty, and other NOC-developed technologies have the ability to travel under ice and to depths of 6,000 meters to investigate the process driving change in the Polar regions.

The marine robot fleet at NOC is one of the most capable in the world and support the ships’ scientific research with environmentally-friendly marine observation.