Ship shape and ready to sail

A new £40 million royal research ship, the RRS James Cook, is formally named this week by HRH The Princess Royal.

RRS James Cook will act as a floating lab for many scientists, taking them to the extremes of Earths environment

The RRS James Cook is the latest addition to the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) fleet of oceanographic research ships and will carry scientists to some of the Earth’s most challenging environments, from tropical oceans to the edge of the ice sheets.

Professor Alan Thorpe, NERC’s Chief Executive, said: “With oceans covering around three quarters of the Earth, ships like these are vital for the research community. They can reach places that would otherwise be impossible to explore. They allow us to discover micro-organisms that could, for example, be used to develop new antibiotics.”

The RRS James Cook can carry large scientific parties and is highly flexible in the use of deck and laboratory space. It can operate in tropical regions and at the edge of the ice-sheets without compromising any performance capabilities.

Professor Thorpe said: “Her first voyage will be to the Mid Atlantic Ridge, a massive underwater mountain range, where advanced technology will keep the ship stationary while instruments are deployed to capture information about how the Earth's crust is formed.”

Captain James Cook was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer. Ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy, Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, achieving the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia, the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation and mapping of Newfoundland and New Zealand.