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This stamp issue celebrates the construction of the Royal Research Ship SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, the United Kingdom’s state-of-the-art polar research ship that will provide a new, modern platform for Antarctic and Arctic research.

Named after the famous broadcaster and naturalist, the commissioning of the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH is part of a major Government polar infrastructure investment program designed to keep the UK at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic. Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), built to a Rolls-Royce design by Cammell Laird, the ship will be operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS). This £200m commitment represents the UK Government’s largest investment in polar science since the 1980s.

Launched by Sir David Attenborough himself and the BAS Director Prof Dame Jane Francis, the hull of the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH glided into the River Mersey on 14 July 2018. Days later, a 535-tonne superstructure was lifted into position on top of the hull. This block contains the final six decks of the ship and includes the bridge, helicopter hangar, and accommodation for crew, scientists and support staff. Once operational, international scientists researching oceans, ice and atmosphere will have access to one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world.

The UK has been a world leader in polar exploration and research for over a century. Studying these remote regions plays a crucial role in helping us understand the changes in our planet’s oceans, marine life and climate system. The RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH‘s design optimizes her ability to support science in extreme environments. A wide range of specialist scientific facilities, instruments and laboratories will enable scientists to conduct a wide range of multi-disciplinary sciences to study the ocean, seafloor, and atmosphere. Data from the deep ocean and under-ice inaccessible locations will be captured using robotic and remotely operated devices.
While the vessel may have become famous after a naming competition, the public’s choice of ‘Boaty McBoatface’ will live on in the guise of an autonomous underwater vehicle, which will be onboard the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH and will be deployed on scientific missions.

The new ship will operate year-round. She will spend the northern summer supporting Arctic research cruises and the austral summer in Antarctica carrying out research programs and transporting people and supplies to BAS research stations. With her ability to spend up to 60 days at sea unsupported, and an ice-strengthened hull designed to break through ice up to 1m thick, the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH will undertake extensive voyages with significantly greater geographic coverage than her predecessors.


The details of the Polar Research vessel have been taken from Wikipedia.

Name RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
Namesake Sir David Attenborough
Owner NERC Research Ship Unit
Operator British Antarctic Survey
Builder Cammell Laird
Cost GB£200 million (2014)
Yard number 1390
Laid down 17 October 2016
Launched 14 July 2018
Sponsored by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Christened 26 September 2016
Acquired 2 December 2020
Delivered 01 March 2021
Homeport Stanley, Falkland Islands
Identification IMO number: 9798222
Status Sea trials
General characteristics
Tonnage
15,009 GT
4,475 DWT
Length 128.9 m (423 ft)
Beam 24 m (79 ft)
Draught 7 m (23 ft)
Depth 11 m (36 ft)
Ice class
Polar Class 4 (hull)
Polar Class 5 (propulsion system)
Installed power
2 × Bergen B33:45L6A (2 × 3,600 kW)
2 × Bergen B33:45L9A (2 × 5,400 kW)
Propulsion
Diesel-electric; two shafts
2 × 2,750 kW per shaft
Two 5-bladed controllable pitch propellers
Speed
17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) (maximum)
13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) (cruising)
3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) in 1 m (3 ft) ice
Range 19,000 nautical miles (35,000 km; 22,000 mi) at 13 knots
Endurance 60 days
28 crew
60 scientists
2 spare berths
Aircraft carried 2 helicopters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Sir_D ... tenborough


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update:
Britain’s new polar research ship, the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, departed November 16th, 2021 for its maiden voyage to Antarctica. It left Harwich with 66 crew and personnel on board, for a short stop at Portsmouth to take on fuel before departing the UK by 18 November. Its first point of call will be Stanley, Falkland Islands, three-and-a-half-weeks later. From there, the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH will continue its voyage to Antarctica.
During its first mission ‘south’ the state-of-the-art research vessel will transfer station teams, food, cargo and fuel to British Antarctic Survey’s five research stations. Robotic instruments that drift with the Southern Ocean currents (Argo floats) will be deployed as part of an international oceanography programme. The ship will also transport essential science equipment to support the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, a collaboration between UK and US scientists to investigate one of the most unstable glaciers in Antarctica. Last month visitors to London had a rare opportunity to see the ship ahead of its maiden voyage, during a three-day pre-COP26 event in Greenwich in partnership with the National Maritime Museum. Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of British Antarctic Survey, says: “We are so excited to be waving off the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH on its first Antarctic mission. This historic moment marks the next chapter of ship-borne research for the British Antarctic Survey. I was there when the first piece of steel was laid, so to watch the ship sail away to Antarctica for the first time is an incredibly poignant and emotional moment for me, and for all those who have been involved in the ship’s story so far. Following COP26 in Glasgow, the world is more aware than ever of the urgent need to understand our changing world, and the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH has a vital role to play in that.” Will Whatley, Captain of the RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, says:“This is such a proud moment for the crew of RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH . The maiden voyage is the moment we’ve all been waiting for and to finally be sailing the ship to Antarctica is an incredible feeling.” The ship was also flying a rainbow flag in celebration of Polar Pride Day (18 November), an initiative launched by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in 2020 to celebrate the contribution of LGBTQ+ people to polar research in the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The new polar ship was commissioned by UKRI-NERC and built by Cammell Laird for operation by British Antarctic Survey. This new research platform will transform how ship-borne science is conducted in the Polar Regions. It is part of a major Government polar infrastructure investment programme designed to keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic. The RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH will return to the UK in June 2022 at the end of the Antarctic season.

Source: DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2021– 331

Britain’s new polar ship has been registered on the British register of ships at Stanley, Falkland Islands. This continues the long tradition of registering British Antarctic Survey (BAS) ships and aircraft in the Falkland Islands, and underpins the ship’s role in delivering scientific excellence in the South-west Atlantic and Antarctic region. In her science and logistics missions, the RRS Sir David Attenborough will regularly visit the three Overseas Territories of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory.

Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and operated by BAS, the new polar ship will transform UK research in the polar regions. Its missions will be critical for understanding and making sense of our changing climate and will keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic.
This £200m commitment represents the UK Government’s largest investment in polar science since the 1980s.
The RRS Sir David Attenborough is named after the British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Frederick Attenborough. The ship was handed over to NERC and BAS by shipbuilder Cammell Laird on 27 November 2020 and is expected to commence polar operations in 2021. It will replace the RRS James Clark Ross, sold in August 2021, and the RRS Ernest Shackleton which was returned to its owners in 2019 after 20 years of polar duties for BAS.
Technical sea trials and scientific equipment testing began in October 2020. The RRS Sir David Attenborough is designed to support science in extreme environments and this multidisciplinary research platform will transform how ship-borne science is conducted in the polar regions, providing scientists and postgraduate trainees with state-of-the-art facilities to research the oceans, seafloor, ice and atmosphere.
Britain has been a world leader in polar exploration and research for over a century and studying these remote regions is crucial in helping us understand changes in our planet’s oceans, marine life and climate system.
Nigel Phillips CBE, Governor Falkland Islands and HM Commissioner South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has said that “The connection between the British Antarctic Survey and the UK Overseas Territories in the South West Atlantic is mutually beneficial and the launch of the RRS Sir David Attenborough will continue that association long into the future. Science is key to evidence-based decision making and it must underpin how we protect our precious environment. The importance therefore of this incredible science platform cannot be understated. We look forward to welcoming the RRS Sir David
Attenborough to her home port of Stanley and further strengthening our relationship with the British Antarctic Survey.”
09 December 2021 she arrived at Port Stanley, she was too large to berth in port, anchored outside in the bay.

Technical features of the RRS Sir David Attenborough include:

• Length: 129 metres; beam: 24m; Gross Tonnage: 15,000
• Scientific cargo volume of approximately 900m³
• Endurance – up to 60 days
• Range 19,000 nautical miles at 13 knots (24 km/h) cruising speed; more than
enough for a return trip from England to Rothera Research Station, or to circle
the entire Antarctic continent twice!
• Ice breaking capability – up to 1m thick at 3 knots (5.6 km/h)
• Bow and stern thrusters for excellent dynamic positioning in challenging conditions
• Launch and recovery of aerial and ocean robotic systems
• Crew approx. 30
• Accommodation for up to 60 scientists and support staff.

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SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH maiden voyage:
Britain’s new polar research ship, RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH , completed its successful first season in Antarctica in 2022.
The ship is one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world and will carry out important scientific research in some of the most extreme environments on Earth, as well as providing vital supplies to the UK's research stations in both the Arctic and Antarctic.
The ship, once almost known as Boaty McBoatface, departed the UK in November 2021 officially entering Antarctica on 13 December, and arriving at the UK’s largest research facility on the continent, Rothera, on 17 December. During its eight months in Antarctica the ship’s first season saw it conduct science trials, transport people and cargo to four of the British Antarctic Survey’s research stations and complete its ice trials. The ship returned to the UK 14 June 2022.
Being a Polar Ice Class 5 ship, meaning it can operate year-round in medium first-year ice, the ship can break through ice one-meter thick at a speed of three knots (5.6km/h). When ice breaking, the ship rises up on the ice and uses its weight – 15,000 tonnes – to break through.
The ship’s sensitive acoustic instruments are housed within the hull and covered with protective material to ensure they are protected when the ship is in ice. Other instruments, such as the farsounder forward-looking sonar, which warns of navigational hazards under the water (such as unchartered rocks), are fitted on a retractable pole and will only be deployed when the ship is not ice-breaking. The ship also has a moon pool – a four-by-four meter hole through the middle of the ship – through which researchers can deploy instruments, even when in ice.
Reflecting on the ship’s first journey South, Captain Will Whatley, Master of RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH said: “Everyone on board was thrilled to arrive at Rothera for the first time. This was a really exciting and proud moment for us, and another huge milestone to have achieved. As we traveled further South, we had the chance to put the ship through its paces in Antarctic conditions – and I’m pleased to report the ship performed really well”.
On 22 November 2022 RRS SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH departed UK for its second voyage to Antarctica. During its second mission ‘south’ the floating laboratory will transfer station teams, food, science equipment, cargo and fuel to British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) research stations. The ship will also be carrying out trials of polar science equipment in the extreme polar conditions, a critical step in the ship’s commissioning.
“With the world’s eyes on COP27 in Egypt and climate change at the forefront of all our minds, we are reminded of the critical role this ship is going to play over the next three decades in improving our understanding of climate change and the impacts on our environment and society.” Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of (BAS).
At a cost of £200 million, the ship was commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council, built by Cammell Laird and is operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

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