Workboat News Roundup | May 6 – US Coast Guard icebreaker construction, French polar research station and more
Deliveries include a floating Arctic research station and buoy tenders designed for Russian inland waters. Construction continues on new research vessels ordered by science institutes in Saudi Arabia and Germany.
US Coast Guard secures approval for new cutter construction
The US Department of Homeland Security has approved full production of the first US Coast Guard polar security cutter (PSC).
The coast guard has also received approval for low-rate initial production of the the waterways commerce cutter (WCC), examples of which will replace the service's ageing fleet of inland tenders.
Russian inland waterways authority welcomes new buoy tenders to fleet
Rechvodput, the federal inland waterway transport agency of the Russian Government, has taken delivery of two new buoy tenders in a series built by Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant of Saint Petersburg.
Anyui and Sugoi belong to the Project 3050.1A series of buoy tenders, the first examples of which entered service with Rechvodput in late 2024.
France's Tara Ocean Foundation inaugurates floating Arctic research station
French research non-profit Tara Ocean Foundation has inaugurated a new floating polar research station for deployment in the Arctic Ocean.
Designed by Tara Ocean in collaboration with French architect Oliver Petit and engineering firm Mauric, Tara Polar Station has a length of 26 metres, a beam of 16 metres, a draught of 2.3 metres, a full load displacement of 416 tonnes, and accommodation for up to 18 people within a 400-square-metre living space.
Final outfitting begins on German education ministry's new research vessel
German shipbuilder Fassmer has begun final outfitting on Meteor IV, a new vessel commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; BMBF).
The Meyer Werft Group is building the new research vessel together with Fassmer on behalf of BMBF. The vessel had earlier left Meyer Werft's yard in Papenburg and is now at Fassmer's facilities in Berne.
Keel laid for new Saudi research flagship
Spain's Freire Shipyard has laid the keel of a new research vessel ordered by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) of Saudi Arabia.
The vessel, which will be named Thuwal II, will be designed by US naval architecture firm Glosten. It will be capable of operation in both coastal and deep-sea waters.
