Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that the new Royal Research Ship being built for the British Antarctic Survey is a ship and not a boat, what is their assessment of the suitability of the name Boaty McBoatface for that vessel.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The feedback from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s call-for-ideas for the new Royal Research Ship is being considered by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and NERC. The final decision on the ship’s name will be taken by Government. The name will be submitted for registration to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in line with Regulation 30(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993.