The Greenland Institute of Natural Sciences has signed a contract for a new 61 metre research vessel to be built at the Astilleros Balenciaga yard in Spain to a design from Norwegian naval architect Skipsteknisk.
The new vessel will replace the current research vessel Paamiut and it will be equipped for both fisheries and marine research, and built to stringent noise level requirements. Designed for demersal and pelagic trawling in Arctic waters, it is also to be built for worldwide operation, as well as having facilities for taking samples and observations to record environmental impacts on the marine environment and the air.
It will be fitted with laboratories for examining fish and shrimps, as well as for general marine research, and will be outfitted to carry 32 persons. In addition to greater efficiency than has been possible up to now, the new vessel will also have training capacity and opportunities for internships for students on marine education programmes.
The background to the order of the new vessel is a construction grant from the Greenlandic government and support from the Aage V. Jensen fund.
