RRS Discovery

The Royal Research Ship Discovery is designed to support the multidisciplinary research required for the 21st century. The ship is the fourth vessel to bear the name and continues the tradition of oceanographic research at sea. RRS Discovery was delivered to NERC on the 8th July 2013 by builders CNP Freire, SA from Vigo in northern Spain.

Designed by Skipsteknisk AS, a leader in the design of sophisticated and noise reduced research vessels who also designed RRS James Cook, the ship will operate worldwide, with more modern facilities and in higher sea-states, than the previous RRS Discovery.

The RRS Discovery comes with sub-bottom profiling and multi-beam equipment for mapping the seabed, whilst her dynamic positioning capability means Remotely Operated Vehicles such as Isis can be used. Her wide range of cranes and overside gantries, with associated winches and wires, will allow many different types of equipment to be deployed from the ship. These facilities and the many more listed below help support the UK marine science community as it undertakes research of national and global importance.

On board sensors

Swath
12 Khz echosounder
75 Khz echosounder
Muli-beam sonar
ADCP
Fish finder sonar
Vsat Comms and Fleet broardband
Wave radar
USBL