Sir David Attenborough at Orskov Yard

One of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world, RRS Sir David Attenborough, operated by British Antarctic Survey has just left Orskov Yard after a 6 weeks yard stay. This £200 million vessel is the largest investment from the UK Government in polar science since the 1980s. Sir David Attenborough has an impressive range of 19,000 nautical miles and has an ice-breaking capability up to 1 meter thick ice at 3 knots. It is designed to support science in extreme environments and can accommodate up to 60 scientists and support staff, with an impressive ability to spend up to 60 days at sea.

After the completion of extensive sea trials, commissioning of new scientific equipment in the ship´s hull and laboratories and acceptance tests, the ship is stayed at specialist shipyard Orskov Yard for final technical checks and fitting out in readiness for the first mission to Antarctica. – BAS, News stories

Sir David Attenborough is designed to support science in extreme environments. A wide range of specialist scientific facilities, instruments and laboratories enable scientists to conduct multi-disciplinary sciences to study the ocean, seafloor, ice and atmosphere. Marine robotics and remotely operated vehicles will capture data from the deep ocean and, previously, inaccessible locations under the ice. From the ship, scientists can deploy, operate, and control a range of remotely piloted science instruments at the same time, meaning they can gather measurements from both airborne and marine, remotely, operated vehicles and autonomous platforms simultaneously.

Orskov Yard and its staff wish Sir David Attenborough a safe trip to the Antarctica .