Royal Research Ship

Last updated

A Royal Research Ship (RRS) is a merchant navy vessel of the United Kingdom that conducts scientific research for His Majesty's Government. Organisations operating such ships include; the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). A warrant from the monarch is required before a ship can be designated as an RRS. [1]

Contents

Relationship with the Royal Navy

In the 1950s and 1960s the Royal Research Ships of the day were owned by the Admiralty, partially managed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), and run as ships of that fleet.

The work of the Royal Research Ship operated by the British Antarctic Survey is complemented by a Royal Navy icebreaker, currently HMS Protector, which provides science logistics support to the British Antarctic Survey. [2]

Current Royal Research Ships

All ships bear the prefix "RRS" - Royal Research Ship.

ShipEntered serviceDisplacementTypeOwnerOperator
RRS Sir David Attenborough 202115,000 tonnes [3] Research ship Natural Environment Research Council British Antarctic Survey
RRS James Cook 20075,800 tonnes [4] National Marine Facilities Division
National Oceanography Centre
RRS Discovery 20136,260 tonnes [5]

Notable former Royal Research Ships

See also

References

  1. ↑ "£36m contract awarded for scientific research ship". NERC. 2 July 2004. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "HMS Protector". Royal Navy (British Ministry of Defence). Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "RRS Sir David Attenborough". British Antarctic Survey (NERC). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "RRS James Cook". National Oceanography Centre (NOC). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "RRS Discovery". National Oceanography Centre (NOC). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.