The 21m LOA cutter rigged vessel was built in Southampton UK by Blondecell to a design by RogersYacht Design in Lymington.

It is the first working sailing craft to be designed and built to Lloyds Special Service Craft rules in the past 30 years and is classed to operate in any ocean.

The newbuild's hull is constructed of steel for strength, durability and ease of repair while the deckhouse superstructure is built of GRP to minimise overall weight and reduce maintenance costs. It can carry enough fuel to motor for 2,000 nautical miles at 10 knots, nearly double the cruising speed of IFAW's previous boat and with three times the range. The new Song of the Whale is almost twice as long as its predecessor, with far more space onboard for research equipment, educational work and crew. This will enable IFAW's research team to travel further afield and spend longer at sea conducting vital studies of threatened and endangered species.

Song of the Whale is one of the world's few dedicated marine mammal research vessels and is also equipped to undertake educational and public awareness activities. A computer room houses equipment to support acoustic surveys and other non-invasive research methods, such as photo identification and video range tracking. Data, sound and digital images can be processed on board and transmitted via satellite to the internet, schools, or the media.

The vessel has been designed to be manoeuvred easily and carefully when working close to whales. The main engine, generators and propeller have been chosen to reduce noise and minimise disturbance to marine life.

The navigation suite on Song of the Whale is focused around Simrad's powerful CA44 multi-role unit, which features integrated chartplotter, radar and echosounder. Steering is handled by the AP21 autopilot and heading data is derived from Simrad's HS50 GPS Gyro System. IS15 instruments and displays provide navigation critical data at different positions on the vessel and communication is via Simrad's top of the range RS87 dVHF system, which is backed up by a dual station handset.

Song of the Whale 's first mission will be to Iceland, where the team hopes to conduct research to showcase non-invasive ways of studying whales as well as holding open days and talks.

Iceland has recently resumed 'scientific whaling' and IFAW is campaigning around the world for an end to both 'scientific' and commercial whaling.

MJInformation No: 19402