New Ice-Capable Research Vessel for US

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) ice-capable research vessel R/V Sikuliaq conducted preliminary acceptance trials on the Great Lakes at the end of February, and NSF planners hope to have the vessel in the Washington, D.C., area for a summer visit while completing the remainder of its testing along the east coast.

The NSF-owned research vessel is a 261-foot ship that the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences will operate as part of the U.S. academic research fleet. R/V Sikuliaq is uniquely equipped to operate in ice-choked waters and will be able to do so in extreme ecosystems, especially in the Arctic region, serving the science and engineering research communities for decades to come.

By late September, R/V Sikuliaq is expected to begin funded science, but the historically cold winter on the Great Lakes gave an ideal opportunity to assess its performance in ice ahead of more formal trials.