Duckworth launches new floating lab

摘要

Florida-based boatbuilder Duckworth Steel Boats has launched a 23.8m x 7.9m coastal class research vessel, W.T Hogarth, which will be handed over to the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) later this year. Named after a former FIO director, designed by Florida's Boksa Marine Design and reportedly worth US$6 million, the vessel will replace FIO's existing 21.6m x 6.1m research boat Bellows, which has served the institute as a floating lab for more than 40 years. The vessel's primary tasks will include studying marine life and the effects of pollution on the natural habitat. She has been fitted with wet and dry labs, and is intended to undertake tasks including water sampling, sediment coring and bioacoustics, to "understand and preserve Florida's critical marine environment," Philip Kramer, FIO director, comments.