Next-generation icebreaking vessels will venture deeper into polar environments

Nature : Climate change is prompting nations around the world to design and build a new generation of ocean-going vessels that can navigate sea ice and better explore polar regions. Called icebreakers, the ships will carry more scientists and have increased research capability so they can explore deeper sea environments. Among those ships of the future is the UK’s RRS Sir David Attenborough; voters who responded to an internet poll to name the ship chose Boaty McBoatface, which is now the name of the ship’s submersible. The ship’s design includes a number of cutting-edge features, including space for custom-made equipment, fiber-optic cables to provide live camera feeds from as deep as 6000 meters, a helicopter deck and hangar, and a moon pool—a hole in the hull for the deployment of oceanographic and geological equipment. Australia, China, Germany, and Norway also have plans to build their own ice-strengthened research vessels.