Cammell Laird signs contract to build NERC’s new £200m polar research ship
The deal has been sealed for a major marine and engineering services company to start work on a new £200m polar research ship to maintain the UK’s position at the forefront of climate and ocean research, ammell Laird said in its press release.
World-famous historic Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird saw off massive competition from Europe and beyond including Korea and Singapore to build the state-of-the-art vessel for the government-funded Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Bosses met to sign the contract late on Friday, November 19 and detailed design work gets underway immediately. It is expected that full production will start in June next year, and on completion the vessel will be operated by NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Cammell Laird chief executive, John Syvret CBE, said the agreement with NERC moves Cammelll Laird into its next chapter and will secure around 500 jobs for local people, boosting the economy in the region.
NERC chief operating officer Paul Fox met with Mr Syvret to seal the deal in Birkenhead.
Cammell Laird is expected to cut steel in June 2016 and deliver the next-generation polar research vessel ready for operation by 2019.
It will operate in both Antarctica and the Arctic, and will be able to endure up to 60 days in sea-ice to enable scientists to gather more observations and data. The ship will be the first British-built polar research vessel with a helideck to open up new locations for science and will be one of the most sophisticated floating research laboratories operating in the polar regions.
Cammell Laird was selected by NERC through a full competitive procurement process. NERC receives around £370m annually to invest in environmental science research in the UK.