The boat that was voted to be named Boaty McBoatface in 2016, a decision since vetoed, has been launched by Sir David Attenborough.
The 92-year-old broadcaster said the ship, which the public voted to call Boaty McBoatface but which was officially named the RRS Sir David Attenborough, could be key to the preservation of the planet as it was launched into the River Mersey from the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead.
The £200m vessel, the largest civilian ship to be built in the UK for 30 years, is the most technically advanced survey ship ever built and will accommodate 60 scientists on research trips to Antarctica.
More than 124,000 people voted to name the vessel Boaty McBoatface in a public poll, but that name was vetoed and it was instead named after the broadcaster.
I will never not laugh when a news presenter has to say ‘Boaty McBoatface.’
— chris o’dowd (@BigBoyler) July 14, 2018
Boaty McBoatface. Those were innocent days, weren’t they?
— Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) July 14, 2018
Boaty does live on however in the form of a miniature, unmanned, yellow submarine on board the boat, which will be operated by the British Antartic Survey (BAS).
A smaller legacy than people hoped for initially, but a legacy nonetheless.
