GEORGE OSBORNE announced today that the government is to spend £200m on a new icebreaker polar research ship. The ship will be a boon to UK science, supporting researchers in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
The vessel is expected to be 430ft long, says the BBC, and will come equipped with a helipad, cranes and onboard laboratories. It will have the capability to transport and deploy submarines and other ocean sampling equipment.
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