RRS Charles Darwin

RRS Charles Darwin was a Royal Research Ship belonging to the British Natural Environment Research Council. Since 2006, she has been the geophysical survey vessel, RV Ocean Researcher,

Charles Darwin in Avonmouth Docks, being readied for a research cruise.
History
United Kingdom
Name	RRS Charles Darwin
Namesake	Charles Darwin
Owner	Natural Environment Research Council
Operator	NERC - Research Vessel Services[1]
Builder	Appledore Shipbuilders, North Devon[2]
Yard number	138[3]
Laid down	1984
Launched	22 February 1984 by the Prince of Wales[4]
Out of service	June 2006
Homeport	London
United Kingdom
Name	RV Ocean Researcher
Owner	Gardline Shipping ltd.[5]
Operator	Gardline Shipping Limited
Port of registry	Lowestoft[citation needed]
Acquired	2006
Identification	IMO number: 8207941 MMSI Number: 235011460 Callsign: GDLS
Status	in service
General characteristics
Type	DTp VII, Lloyds 100A1 oceanography then multi-role survey vessel[6]
Displacement	2,556 tonnes, fully loaded.
Length	69.4 m (227 ft 8 in)
Beam	14.4 m (47 ft 3 in)
Draught	4.85 m (15 ft 11 in)
Installed power	3 Mirrlees Blackstone MB275 diesels: 7,950 hp (5,928 kW)
Propulsion	Single controllable pitch 4-bladed StoneVickers propeller White Gill Azimuthing bow thruster
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Range	9,240 nmi (17,110 km; 10,630 mi)
Endurance	35 days
Complement	39 (inc. scientific staff)
Sensors & processing systems	Simrad EM 12S 120 and EA500 echo/sonar; multiple GPS systems; Bridgemaster ARPA C342/6 and C252/6 radar.

History

RRS Charles Darwin was built in 1985 by Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon. Named after the eminent English naturalist, she was used primarily for research in oceanography, geology, and geophysics. After 21 years of service, Charles Darwin was retired in June 2006, and replaced by the RRS James Cook.^[7]

Purchased by Gardline Marine Sciences Limited of Great Yarmouth, she was renamed RV Ocean Researcher, and as of 2012^[update] conducts geophysical surveys.^[8]

Ocean Researcher

Science cruises

RRS Charles Darwin carried out 180 research cruises, worldwide, in her 21 years as a Natural Environment Research Council ship. The first cruise, in 1985, in the Northeast Atlantic, was led by Professor John Gould. Researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, studying climate change, have used RRS Charles Darwin to investigate the slowing of the Gulf Stream. Her final cruise was a geophysical survey for the British Geological Survey.^[7]

Gallery

• 
  The Charles Darwin in Fairlie, Scotland, at the end of a research cruise in August 2005.
• 
  Loading for its last voyage as Charles Darwin, in March, 2006.

See also

• RV Neil Armstrong - United States equivalent
• RV Knorr - Predecessor to the Neil Armstrong