RRS Sir David AttenboroughRolls-Royceand hydrographic research activities in any area of operation. Regional Class Research VesselsKronprins Haakon will set sail for scienti? c expeditions start- Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. subsidiary Gulf Island Ship-ing in 2018. yards, LLC, received a contract from Oregon State University (OSU) for the construction of a Regional Class Research Ves-LNG Fueled Research Ship for Germanysel (RCRV) with an option for two additional vessels. OSU The Fassmer shipyard in Germany is currently constructing has engaged with naval architecture and engineering ? rm Glo-a new research vessel to be owned by Bundesamt für See- sten to lead the design and construction of the next class of schifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH), the Federal Maritime ocean-going research vessels for the National Science Foun-and Hydrographic Agency. The new 75-meter-long ship will dation (NSF).replace her 30 year old namesake, the Atair, and will be the These state-of-the-art 193-foot ships will be highly ? exible, ? rst German research vessel operating on lique? ed natural gas multi-mission platforms that maximize energy ef? cient de-(LNG) fuel. sign concepts. The ? rst vessel will be built in Houma, La, and Wärtsilä will supply two six-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual- will be delivered to OSU in the fourth quarter of 2020. This fuel engines capable of running on either LNG or convention- vessel will be ABS Ice-Class C0 and DPS-1, Green-Marine al liquid fuels, one six-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engine, two ex- Certi? ed, acoustically quiet, and carry up to 29 crew and em-haust cleaning systems and a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage, barked scientists.supply and control system. The ship ful? lls the DNVGL clas- RCRV will have the ability to collect high quality and high si? cation society’s ‘Silent R’ rating, thus allowing the sonar resolution ocean ? oor and sub? oor acoustic data (multibeam) equipment to be used without disturbance from underwater from near shore to midwater depths. RCRV will also intro-radiated engine noise. duce a deployable centerboard that will, with high positional Kongsberg’s Integrated Vessel Concept for research vessels precision, provide at versatile platform on to which a wide delivers a fully integrated operator environment, equipped variety of acoustical sensors can be easily installed based on with high level acoustic data acquisition, dynamic position- speci? c mission requirements.ing, propulsion control, navigation and vessel automation. The ? rst RCRV will be operated by OSU on the West Coast Atair II will operate in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, as part of the University-Oceanographic Laboratory System conducting hydrographic surveys and wreck search operations (UNOLS).in addition to marine environmental monitoring, as well as the technical testing of navigation and radar equipment. The ves-China’s New Polar Research Vesselsel is scheduled to enter service in early 2020. Construction on China’s new state-of-the-art polar research www.marinetechnologynews.comMarine Technology Reporter 51MTR #7 (50-63).indd 51 MTR #7 (50-63).indd 51 8/23/2017 4:34:32 PM8/23/2017 4:34:32 PM