A NEW £40 million royal research ship is be named by HRH The Princess Royal at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.
The RRS James Cook is the latest addition to the Natural Environment Research Council's fleet of oceanographic research ships.
It is one of the most advanced research vessels in the world and will carry scientists to some of the earth's most challenging environments, from tropical oceans to the edge of the ice sheets.
It was commissioned in 2004 to replace the RRS Charles Darwin, which has reached the end of its working life as a scientific research ship.Ships such as the RRS James Cook help scientists to address fundamental questions such as climate change.
They provide platforms to study marine processes like ocean currents, the deep ocean floor and the creatures and organisms that inhabit the seas.
The naming ceremony will be held on February 6.
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