After 30 years of service with the British Antarctic Survey, the RRS James Clark Ross is to be sold to the Ukrainian National Antarctic Scientific Centre.
This is the second time that a UK research asset has been transferred to Ukrainian research colleagues – the first being the transfer in 1996 of the former Faraday station that is now known as Vernadsky.
The ice-capable ship is a new asset for Ukraine and opens up new research opportunities for its National Antarctic Scientific Centre, in particular research into oceans and climate change in the polar regions.
Interestingly, “James Clark Ross” brought the first Ukrainian mission to the former British station Faraday – now known as Vernadsky – in 1996.