RV The Princess Royal

For other uses, see Princess Royal (ship).

RV The Princess Royal is a research vessel owned and operated by Newcastle University as part of the School of Marine Science and Technology. Designed by in-house naval architects from the school, The Princess Royal replaced the previous RV Bernicia as the school's research vessel.

History
United Kingdom
Name	RV The Princess Royal
Namesake	Princess Anne of the United Kingdom
Owner	Newcastle University
Operator	Newcastle University Department of Marine Science and Technology[1]
Route	Coastal waters, rivers and estuaries of North East England.[1]
Builder	Alnmarintec, Blyth, UK[2][3]
Yard number	ALN 109[3]
Christened	4 February 2011[4]
Identification	Call sign: 2EYM2[5] MMSI number: 235089188[5]
Status	In service
General characteristics
Type	Research Vessel[6]
Displacement	35 t (34 long tons; 39 short tons)[3]
Length	18.9 m (62 ft) LOA[3]
Beam	7.42 m (24.3 ft)[3]
Draught	1.8 m (5.9 ft)[5]
Installed power	1,200 hp (890 kW)[1]
Propulsion	2 × Cummins QSM11 diesel engines[3] 2 × fixed pitch propellers[3]
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) (maximum),[3] 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (cruising)[1]
Range	400nm in sea state 4-5[1]
Boats & landing craft carried	5m inflatable RIB[3]

Design

The Princess Royal has a twin hull, deep-vee form with each hull having a bulbous bow. The hull form aims to improve seakeeping, stability and fuel efficiency^[6] and was designed by the School of Marine Science and Technology at Newcastle University. The ship was built by Alnmarintec in Blyth^[3] to MCA category 2 requirements and is constructed from aluminium alloy.^[6]

The Princess Royal is equipped with a 6.5 tonne-metre knuckle boom crane, a 2 tonne hydraulic A-frame, two trawl winches, a pot hauler two ROV winches and a 5-metre Rigid Inflatable Boat.^[3]

Powering the vessel are two MAN D2676 diesel engines coupled to two fixed-pitch propellers.^[1][3]

Namesake

The Princess Royal is named after Princess Anne who christened the ship during a ceremony in Blyth on 4 February 2011.^[4]