Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke's new research ship is costing $350m, part of his $500m pledge to help the world's oceans.
The 16,000-gt Research Expedition Vessel (REV) will be the largest such ship ever built, more than twice the length of most others.
It is engineered to endure polar ice, harsh weather, and around-the-world voyages from 2021.
Its full capabilities were revealed for the first time last week at a meeting on deep-sea exploration at The Royal Society in London, Science magazine reported.
The report said the ship's price is $350m, with the rest of the cash funding its first three years of operations through shipping investor Rokke's REV Ocean foundation, started last year to find solutions to climate change, ocean acidification, over-fishing, and marine pollution.
"The scale of the investment and commitment is astounding," Victor Zykov, science director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, told Science.
REV offers room for 60 researchers and large areas for science and engineering.
"The idea that all the assets are on the ship, and you can pick and choose, that is tremendous," said Ajit Subramaniam, a microbial oceanographer at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
The ship was ordered last year by Rokke's Rosellinis Four-10. No financial terms were disclosed at that time.
Rokke said then: “I'll give back to society the lion's share of what I've earned. This ship is a part of that."
The hull is being built at Vard Tulcea in Romania, and will eventually be towed to Vard Brattvaag in Norway for outfitting.
The vessel will also be used for education, capacity building, ocean literacy and policy-making programmes both through the science programme and selected expeditions and symposiums organised on the boat.
"This pledge shows the dedication and commitment of Kjell Inge Rokke and REV Ocean to make a true difference in improving the state of our ocean," said REV Ocean CEO Nina Jensen.
"Mr Rokke is a businessman and a visionary who has pledged to donate substantial portions of his wealth to the improvement of ocean health. He has made much of his fortune from the ocean and it was only natural for him to choose improving ocean health as his philanthropic goal."
