UK’s New Polar Research Ship Makes London Debut

The UK’s new polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, has completed basic sea trials and is ready to undertake its first expedition.

The vessel came up the Thames on Wednesday through the Woolwich Barrier and is now tied up in Greenwich.

It is spending a few days at the home of the Prime Meridian to enable the public to see it, but also to mark the start of the COP26 climate conference.

The Attenborough, named after the TV naturalist and BBC presenter Sir David, is the ship the public wanted to call “Boaty McBoatface” in an online poll but were overruled by ministers.

International senior scientific advisers are using the Attenborough as a platform to issue a statement about the urgent need to address the climate crisis.

They want to see a concerted drive to develop – and use – the technologies that will keep global temperature rise below 1.5C and underpin the net zero economies of tomorrow.

These technologies include better ways of creating, storing and using low-emissions energy – including improving semiconductors, batteries and low-emitting fuel production – as well as work on heating and cooling, and carbon capture and storage.