The RRS ''James Cook'' is a British

Royal Research Ship A Royal Research Ship (RRS) is a merchant navy vessel of the United Kingdom that conducts scientific research for His Majesty's Government. Organisations operating such ships include; the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the British ...

operated by the

Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several environmental (mainly geog ...

(NERC). She was built in 2006 to replace the ageing RRS ''Charles Darwin'' with funds from Britain's NERC and the DTI's Large Scientific Facilities Fund. She was named after

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

explorer,

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

and cartographer at the

National Oceanography Centre The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and ...

, Southampton by The Princess Royal. On her maiden scientific voyage, on 5 March 2007, the ''James Cook'' set off to study the

Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone The Fifteen-Twenty or 15°20' Fracture Zone (FTFZ), also known as the Cabo Verde Fracture Zone, is a fracture zone located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in the central Atlantic Ocean between 14–16°N. It is the current location of the migrati ...

. ''James Cook'' was involved in the discovery of what is believed to be the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents, while in the Caribbean in 2010. In September 2015, while on a cruise studying the seabed and marine life of the Whittard Canyon on the northern margin of the Bay of Biscay,

oceanographers Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...

pictured what they believe was the first blue whale in English waters since the mammals were almost hunted to extinction in the north-east Atlantic. In January 2020 she left

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

to take part in the Go-Ship programme of scientific expeditions, studying the changes in the physical and chemical make-up of the North Atlantic as a result of anthropogenic warming. The voyage ended at

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

in early March. RRS James Cook 1

References

External links

Skipsteknisk AS Design ST-345

National Oceanography Centre - Sea Systems - RRS ''James Cook'', Southampton

Movie of the hull launch of the RRS ''James Cook'' in Gdansk, Poland
Natural Environment Research Council Oceanographic instrumentation Research vessels of the United Kingdom 2005 ships Ships built in Gdańsk {{ship-stub

See also

References

External links