NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) has closed the online poll which was launched to allow public to name UK’s new polar research ship.
The “Name Our Ship” online poll ended with about 7000 suggestions.
On the official poll website, which drew a lot of public attention after a few funny proposals, the leading name remained “RRS Boaty McBoatface”. The name was submitted by James Hand, who afterwards tweeted an apology after his suggestion went viral and caused the poll website to crash.
According to the latest updates, NERC will now review all the entries prior to making a final decision on the name of the new GBP 200 million worth research vessel.
We’ll announce the name of our new polar research vessel in due course. Follow @nercscience for updates #NameOurShip pic.twitter.com/mgSZ4gCDNL
— NERC (@NERCscience) April 18, 2016
The vessel will be built by Cammell Laird shipyard on Merseyside, and it is expected to set sail in 2019.
“Tonne-for-tonne, the ship – together with NERC’s existing two blue water research ships – will provide the UK with the most advanced floating research fleet in the world and will help put the UK at the forefront of ocean research for years to come,” NERC said.
Once ready, the ship will be deployed in both Antarctica and the Arctic, and will be able to spend up to 60 days in sea-ice.