When the 820-foot-long, 13-deck luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity traverses the historic Northwest Passage this month, Marine Institute researchers and students will accompany the vessel onboard its escort ship, the RRS Ernest Shackleton.
The logistics and research ship, operated by the U.K. government-funded British Antarctic Survey, will take the Crystal Serenity through the passage, providing ice-breaking assistance as necessary. The crew will be joined by three researchers from the institute’s Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research (CFER) and two nautical science cadets. Along the 32-day voyage, the researchers will collect oceanographic and biological data; the cadets will assist in navigating the route. Read the full story.