Cammell Laird has selected a Rolls-Royce design for the UK's future polar research ship, the 'RSS Sir David Attenborough'.
Rolls-Royce will also supply machinery and equipment for the vessel in a deal worth £30 million (US$43 million).
The 128-metre long ship will be built at the modular construction hall at Cammell Laird's site in Birkenhead on Merseyside.
The new polar research vessel is being commissioned by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for operation by the British Antarctic Survey.
This £200 million government investment secures the UK's position as a world leader in polar research and provides a major boost to shipbuilding in the North West.
The ship will carry out oceanographic and other scientific work in both the Antarctic and Arctic as well as transporting supplies to Antarctic research stations when it enters service in 2019.