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RRS Discovery (1962)
Encyclopedia
RRS Discovery is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Research Ship
Royal Research Ship
A Royal Research Ship is a British-operated merchant ship that conducts research for British Government scientific research organisations, notably the British Antarctic Survey and the Natural Environment Research Council...
operated by NERC
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
.
RRS Discovery was built in Aberdeen in 1962 and named after Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
's 1901 ship, RRS Discovery
RRS Discovery
The RRS Discovery was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, successful...
. Until 2006, she was the largest general purpose oceanographic research vessel in use in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Measuring 90 metres in length, and fitted with a broad range of oceanographic equipment, Discovery can also accommodate containerised laboratories. She has berths for 28 scientific staff, and the ability to spend up to 45 days at sea. Her last major overhaul was in 1991, when a new superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
and power plant were installed and her hull lengthened by 10 metres.
Discovery carries out oceanographic
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
and marine biology research from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
The National Oceanography Centre, Southampton describes the integrated collaboration between the Southampton-based part of the Natural Environment Research Council’s National Oceanography Centre, and University of Southampton Ocean and Earth Science...
. She operates as part of a fleet maintained by the Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
(NERC) National Marine Facilities Division (NMFD), along with the larger RRS James Cook
RRS James Cook
The RRS James Cook is a British Royal Research Ship operated by the Natural Environment Research Council . She was built in 2006 to replace the ageing RRS Charles Darwin with funds from Britain's NERC and the DTI's Large Scientific Facilities Fund...
.
Discovery is due to be replaced by another ship, and after extensive enquiry within the scientific community, the replacement vessel will be named "Discovery". The existing vessel will retain the name until shortly before, or at, disposal.
The new vessel has been designed by Skipsteknisk AS of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and will be built in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
by C.N.P. Freire, S.A in 2013