UK Marine Industries Alliance Welcomes UK Polar Ship Decision

The U.K. Marine Industries Alliance has welcomed the government’s announcement that the preferred bidder to build a state-of-the-art $308 million polar research ship is a U.K. company.

The new polar research ship, which will operate in both Antarctica and the Arctic, will be able to endure up to 60 days in sea-ice to enable scientists to gather more observations and data. The ship will be the first British-built polar research vessel with a heli-deck to open up new locations for science and will be one of the most sophisticated floating research laboratories operating in the Polar Regions.

Robotic submarines and marine gliders will collect data on ocean conditions and marine biology and deliver it to scientists working in the ship’s on-board laboratories.