In the YardReady for Launch is Australia’s Largest Research VesselLargest Research Vesselt the end of 2013, the team of Sembawang Shipyard of Singapore and Teekay Shipping Australia will de-Aliver the new scienti? c Research Vessel Investigator to its owners, the Commonwealth Scienti? c and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), an agency of the Federal Government of Australia.Investigator is designed to be among the most capable and quietest non-naval research vessels in the world. It will serve Australia in diverse scienti? c operations ranging over an area from the equator to the ice shelf of Antarctica and spanning almost one-third of the circumference of the globe.The “design and build” contract for construction of this ship was awarded to a team led by Teekay Shipping Australia and Sembawang Shipyard of Singapore. The design was de-veloped by RALion, a joint venture between Vancouver BC Naval Architects, Robert Allan Ltd, Alion Science and Tech-nology of Alexandria, Virginia and Alion Canada of Ottawa. The contract was awarded to this international team in Janu-ary 2011. An extensive program of model testing and design work was completed by November of that year. The vessel was launched on July 21, 2013 and then of? cially named In-vestigator at a ceremony in Singapore on September 5, 2013. It was due to be completed and turned over to the owners at the end of 2013.Investigator has been designed to handle the heat and hu-midity of the tropics and the cold and ice of Antarctica while working safely and effectively in the broad expanse of the Great Southern Ocean separating these extremes. This ice capable vessel has also been designed to meet the underwater radiated noise requirements of the DNV “Silent R” notation up to 11 knots – a capability that enables her to undertake the most sensitive types of environmental research.Investigator is ? tted out with a full range of scienti? c labo-Invetigator Main Particularsratories, science and ? shing winches, coring equipment, Length, o.a......................................................................................93.9 mair and water sampling devices, and acoustic systems. It is Beam ..............................................................................................18.5 mcapable of general-purpose oceanographic survey opera-Depth to Main Deck .........................................................................9.5 mtions in coastal and deep ocean areas, including the physi-cal, chemical and biological oceanography, multi-discipline Draft ..................................................................................................5.7 menvironmental investigations, ocean engineering and marine Draft, Navigational ...........................................................................6.9 m acoustics, coastal hydrographic survey, marine geology and Complement .......................................................60 (including scientists)geophysics, bathymetric surveys and ? sheries research.Vessel Speed ...............................................................................15 knots In support of these missions, the ship is extensively Range.......................................................................................10,800 nm equipped to perform all the following tasks:Endurance .....................................................................................60 days• Acoustic habitat mappingJanuary/February 201414 MTRMTR #1 (1-17).indd 14 MTR #1 (1-17).indd 14 1/24/2014 12:38:22 PM1/24/2014 12:38:22 PM