The RRS Sir David Attenborough Research Vessel Inaugurated

On the 26th of September, many spectators were in attendance to witness the inauguration of the naval ship by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir David Attenborough which was named after the latter. The ship, which was voted to be named Boaty McBoatface by an online poll, had a bottle of champagne smashed against the hull by the Duchess of Cambridge after both Prince William and Sir David Attenborough made speeches. The naval ship is set to replace the RRS James Clark Ross and RRS Ernest Shackleton ships for polar exploration, these two gave a combined 50 years of research since 1990. Spraylat International were privileged to be a part of the manufacturing process of the naval ship. Cammell Laird used Protectapeel’s spray on protective coating, Protectapeel, to temporarily coat the top half of the vessel during its first launch on the 14th of July 2018. Cammell Laird required the coating to match the bottom of the hull’s colour to look aesthetically pleasing. Cammell Laird Ship Manager, Andrew Blakeborough, described Protectapeel as “very easy to apply with airless spray machines”. On the performance of the coating Andrew also noted the coating has a “good glossy finish”. It was also mentioned by Andrew that the temporary protective coating had “good adherence and we have found that it peels off relatively easy”. Managing Director of Spraylat International spoke to BBC Radio regarding the project saying “We were very fortunate that Cammell Laird picked our details up, we sent a representative up there [to Birkenhead] and the challenge was to paint the boat, to match the colour, they only wanted the top part of the boat painted on a temporary basis and I’m pleased to say we had exactly the product to do the job.” The 129m long naval exploration ship will undergo research to help fight climate change which has gained even more exposure this week with school children protesting the issue rather than attending classes around the UK.

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