Work begins on the research ship almost named Boaty McBoatface

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The construction of the polar research ship almost named Boaty McBoatface will begin on Monday in Merseyside.

The £200 million ship is to be named the RRS Sir David Attenborough despite Boaty McBoatface being the overwhelming choice in a public vote earlier this year.

The final call was made by science minister Jo Johnson, who announced the decision to name it after Sir David just days before the veteran broadcaster turned 90 in May.

Sir David will initiate the laying of the first block of the keel - a traditional maritime ceremony to bring good luck to a vessel - as the ship’s construction begins at a shipyard in Birkenhead.

Sir David AttenboroughCredit:
Andrew Crowley

Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council and scheduled to set sail in 2019, it is the largest commercial shipbuilding project in the country in 30 years.

Although the name did not reflect the public vote, there will be a remote-controlled sub-sea vehicle on board the ship which recognises the popular moniker.

“There is going to be an auxiliary ship which is going to be called the Boaty,” said Sir David. “So the name will be preserved and will be whizzing around Antarctica in years to come - alongside me, I am happy to say.”

Sir David told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the ship’s work, which will see scientists conduct research into climate change and the world’s oceans, will be vitally important to the entire planet.

“The equipment and the scientists it will have on board will be among the most advanced in the world, and knowing what happens down in the Antarctic is of crucial importance to the whole world,” he said.

“It was research by the British Antarctic Survey down there which detected some years ago the fact that there was a hole in the ozone layer and which alerted the world to that.

“What goes on here with this ship when she is built will, I am sure, will be equally important to the whole world.”

The ship, which is being built by Cammell Laird, will be operated by the British Antarctic Survey, while the keel-laying ceremony is set to be attended by around 1,000 people including guests from science and technology.