Mário Rui Pinho visits works on future Azorean research vessel this Tuesday - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Mar e das Pescas

The Regional Secretary for the Sea and Fisheries, Mário Rui Pinho, will visit Vigo on Tuesday to learn about the progress of the construction of the future Azorean research vessel to be built under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).

The visit of Mário Rui Pinho to Vigo follows last year's visit by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, to this Spanish city to sign the contract for the beginning of construction works of the research vessel that will operate in the Azores.

The research vessel has an estimated budget of 20 million Ruros - it is scheduled to arrive in the Region between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.

The multidisciplinary scientific research vessel intends to provide the Region with a technological platform for accessing the deep sea of the central north-east Atlantic, and in particular the Exclusive Economic Zone of the archipelago.

The new research platform will have the latest technological standards in terms of capacity and equipment, in addition to high energy performance.

The vessel will be registered in the Portuguese Flag Register 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, it will have a capacity for a minimum 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 training of staff as part of the Azores Maritime School.

Among other equipment, the vessel will be fitted with electronic acoustic equipment to maximise the platform's research potential to a depth of at least 5 thousand metres.

With a length of 45.95 metres and a beam of 10.5 metres, the ship will have an autonomy of 15 days, using diesel-electric propulsion. It will include cabins corresponding to its maximum capacity, a classroom, laboratories (dry and wet) and a data centre.