UK Approves $336M Artic Research Vessel

The UK’s Natural Environment Research Council was given the green light by the British government to begin the design and construction of a state-of-the-art Antarctic research vessel.

While still unnamed, the new polar vessel is set to replace the NERC’s twin research ships the RSS James Clark Ross and the RSS Ernest Shackleton. Given that both crafts were christened in the 1990’s it makes sense that they’re nearing the end of their service life and require an upgraded replacement.

Although much of the design work for the NERC’s new boat has yet to be laid out, some of the design criteria have been outlined. According to the NERC, the ship will be 129.6m (425ft) long, 25m (82ft) from beam to beam and have a 7.5m (24ft) draft. With a displacement of 12,790 tonnes (14,098 tons) and 4,200 cubic meters (148,000 cubic feet) of cargo space the artic explorer will ferry up to 60 scientists along with their assistants and equipment deep into the furthest polar reaches.

In an attempt to give researchers a wider view of their environment, the scientific ark will also be home to a helipad and helicopter that could serve as an evac vehicle should something go wrong. While a helicopter will offer scientists a better view of the Antarctic from above, the ship could also be home to a flotilla of UUVs whose job it is to explore the surrounding ocean.

Even though the NERC’s craft will have a fairly wide “discovery sphere” its ability to plunge through thick icepack is still key. To extend the ship’s range into the Antarctic and offer researchers more time to conduct their experiments the ship will also produce enough power to break ice packs up to 2m (6.5ft) thick.

According to Mike Meredith, Leader of the British Antarctic Survey, the new NERC vessel is absolutely critical to our understanding of our climate, environment and ecosystem. “Understanding the polar oceans is absolutely key to understanding the big questions about our global environment. During the last 100 years British scientists have made incredible discoveries about our planet – for example, we now know that the Southern Ocean is a vast natural sink that absorbs carbon dioxide and regulates our climate.”

What’s more, the pioneering research conducted by the NERC’s older vessels yielded significant discoveries about marine biodiversity, how to better manage fisheries and how shrinking sea ice is affecting sea levels.

With many more design iterations likely to come before the new craft’s launch in 2019, you can expect a number of new additions to the vessel’s already amazing capabilities. Moreover, given this enormous investment you can almost be certain that the 2020’s will yield a glut of new information about the arctic, it’s effects on the rest of the planet and perhaps even a few undiscovered species.

Image Courtesy of NERC and BAS