RRS Sir David Attenborough to leave shipyard to start trials

David Attenborough at the unveiling of the vessel.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is setting sail on Wednesday, two years after it was first put into the water.

And yes, four years after a public poll tried to name it Boaty McBoatface.

Before the craft can set off to do its important research work, the vessel and its crew have to commit a series of sea trials to ensure the huge boat is ready to travel to Antarctica.

Starting from the Cammell Laird shipyard, it will sail across the Mersey to the Liverpool cruise terminal. This will all be done at high tide, so that the crew can become familiar with the waters.

After that, the vessel will endure two weeks of technical trials off the coast of North Wales, then 50 days of intensive training at Holyhead Port and trials around the Irish Sea.

After one year of training, they will finally make their maiden voyage to Antarctica in November 2021.

The RSS Sir David Attenborough is huge!

What is the vessel used for?

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is expected to provide research opportunities in polar regions and will help increase our understanding of climate change.

Using state of the art technology, the RRS and its crew will investigate major changes in polar oceans.

David McGinley, chief executive of Cammell Laird, the company who built the boat, said "The RRS Sir David Attenborough is the single biggest and most ambitious build in the history of Cammell Laird and it's an incredibly proud moment to see her embark on sea trials."

Familiar faces: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were also in attendance.

Some interesting facts!

It weighs around 10,400 tonnes which is the equivalent to 1,400 elephants.

It has robotic submarines that will gather information on ocean floor conditions and marine life, whilst scientists work in labs on the vessel. It even has airborne robots scanning the environment around them for data!

The boat is named after conservationist Sir David Attenborough, though that wasn't its original name. Through a public vote, the research vessel was actually given the name Boaty McBoatface!

It wasn't long until officials intervened and changed it to RRS Sir David Attenborough, though a research submarine on the vessel has instead took the name Boaty McBoatface.