The ship will serve to carry out climate and ocean research in Antarctica and the Arctic

Apr 26, 2014 19:11 GMT  ·  By

By the looks of it, the United Kingdom has some very deep pockets, and it is not afraid to explore them every once in a while. Thus, the country has recently announced plans to build a £200 million (€242 million / $336 million) polar research ship.

According to Click Green, this state-of-the-art ship will pack on-board laboratories, robotic submarines, and underwater gliders, and it will serve to carry out climate and ocean research in both the Antarctic and the Arctic.

“One of the final frontiers in the world where there is still much discovery to be done are the polar oceans. Britain must continue to have a presence in these parts of the world. But our two current polar exploration ships are nearing the end of their life and need replacing.”

“So I am delighted that we are investing in a new polar research ship carry cutting edge British technology to put British scientists at the forefront of research in both the Antarctic and the Arctic oceans,” Chancellor George Osborne said in a statement.

When completed, the ship is to be operated by the British Antarctic Survey. The vessel is expected to be available to the entire United Kingdom research base, postgraduate training included, the same source tells us.