The president of the local government of Portugal's Azores Islands, José Manuel Bolieiro, stated in Vigo that the research vessel Azores Ocean, launched Thursday, will "serve Portugal as a whole" and strengthen the region's role in the maritime research field.
The research vessel, under construction at Armon Shipyards in Spain, is estimated to cost around 20 million euros under the "Recovery and Resilience Plan". The initiative aims to provide the region with a technological platform for accessing the deep sea in the central north-east Atlantic, particularly the archipelago's exclusive economic zone.
The vessel will now be outfitted. It will travel to the archipelago at the end of 2025 and be registered under the Portuguese flag as a research vessel with a minimum capacity of 20 people for global navigation, excluding ice zones: ten technical crew members and ten scientific crew members. In addition, the vessel will have a minimum capacity of 30 people on daily voyages.
The new research vessel will operate, among other things, in areas such as seabed mapping (bathymetry based on acoustic equipment), biological prospecting and exploration of organisms with biotechnological aptitude, support for the development of offshore renewable energy production technologies and staff training as part of the Azores Maritime School.