RV ''Atair'' is a

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

owned and operated by the

Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (german: Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH) is a German federal authority based in Hamburg and Rostock. With some 800 employees, the agency's tasks include maritime safety, ...

(BSH). She entered service in 2021 and replaces a 1987-built research vessel also named ''Atair''.

History

BSH issued a request for proposals for a new research vessel in October 2014, and completed design work for the ship early in 2015. The ship was originally planned to have a cost of about €80 million and enter service late in the decade. The €113.8 million contract for overall engineering and construction of the ship was awarded to

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

. Construction of ''Atair'' was sub-contracted to two German shipyards—Fassmer Werft and German Naval Yards (GNY). Construction began in December 2017, and the hull and superstructure were launched at German Naval Yards in February 2019. Following some fitting out work, including the installation of the main powerplants, ''Atair'' was transported to Fassmer Werft the following month to be completed. Sea trials began in late 2019 and continued through September 2020 ahead of the expected delivery of ''Atair'' late in 2020. Upon her entry into service for BSH, which will own and operate ''Atair'', she will replace the 1987-built ''Atair'' and operate primarily in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, and the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Design

''Atair'' measures long, wide, and has a draft of . She is powered by three

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...

engines, two of which are

LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...

-capable, that give her a service speed of up to through a single propeller. ''Atair'' is the first research vessel in the world to have an LNG-fueled propulsion system. The crew complement is 18 sailors, with accommodations for up to 15 researchers. Scientific facilities on board include several types of

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

, laboratories, rigging to support the deployment of off-vessel equipment, and deck space to house additional temporary equipment.

References

2019 ships Research vessels of Germany {{DEFAULTSORT:Atair