RRS Discovery (2012)

RRS Discovery is a Royal Research Ship operated by the Natural Environment Research Council. The ship is the third such vessel to be built and named for the ship used by Robert Falcon Scott in his 1901-1904 expedition to the Antarctic.

This article is about the 2013 vessel. For Scott's 1901 ship, see RRS Discovery. For other ships of this name, see RRS Discovery (disambiguation).

History
NameRRS Discovery
OwnerNERC Research Ship Unit
BuilderC.N.P. Freire, S.A
Cost£68 million
Laid down16 February 2011
Launched6 April 2012
Completed3 June 2013
Identification
Statusin service
General characteristics
Class and typeLloyd’s +100A1, Ice 1D, LMC, UMS, DP(AM), IWS, EP, Research Vessel
Tonnage5,954 GT
Displacement6,260 tonnes
Length99.7 m
Beam18 m
Draught5.1 – 6.6 m
Installed powerWärtsilä 8L20 - 4x 1770 kW
Propulsion
  • 2 × Azimuth Thrusters(5-bladed, fixed pitch)
  • One retractable azimuth forward (1,350kW)
  • One Tees Gill water-jet thruster (1,700 kW)
Speed12 knots
Crew
  • 24 marine crew
  • 28 scientists
NotesEndurance 50 days

History

Discovery was built as a replacement for the previous Discovery in the "blue ocean" research role.[1] The ship was ordered in 2010 from the C.N.P. Freire shipyard in Vigo, Spain, and was launched in April 2012. Discovery was delivered to the NERC in the summer of 2013 for a period of sea trials prior to her planned initial deployment.[2]

In 2023, Discovery visited Scotland, where she undertook a refit in dock at the Port of Rosyth, near Edinburgh, before travelling to Dundee, where Falcon Scott's ship was built and permanently moored, as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the refit of the 1901 ship.[3][4][5]

Features

The ship is fitted with flexible laboratory spaces, allowing the laboratories to be tailored to the nature of the different scientific activities intended to take place on each cruise. Discovery is also fitted with an advanced hydroacoustic system in three major parts; a pair of major echosounders plus a hydrophone are installed in a special "blister" installation on the ship's keel, while she also carries a pair of "drop keels" containing more echosounders, hydrophones and CCTV cameras.[6] Discovery is also capable of operating the National Oceanography Centre's ROUV Isis.

References
  1. "RRS Discovery Replacement Project". National Oceanography Centre. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  2. Cooper, Edward (2012). "The future RRS Discovery" (PDF). Ocean Challenge. The Challenger Society for Marine Science. 19: 10–11. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. Devlin, Laura (31 May 2023). "Why there are two RRS Discovery ships in Dundee this week?". The Courier. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  4. Alexander, Michael (17 June 2023). "'I have to pinch myself', says modern RRS Discovery captain visiting Dundee". The Courier. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  5. "RRS Discovery celebrates 100th anniversary and becomes the first to use the Babcock's Rosyth facility | National Oceanography Centre". noc.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. "RRS Discovery". National Oceanography Centre. Retrieved 25 April 2014.


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