CIM builds the first professional plug-in hybrid electric boat to be produced in Spain

The University of Vigo’s Centre for Marine Research (CIM), a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence within the Galician university system, has presented the CIM UVigo oceanographic research boat, the first professional plug-in hybrid electric boat to be produced in Spain.

The University of Vigo has presented what is set to become one of its most significant, modern and innovative research infrastructures. The boat, built by the Moaña-based shipyard Rodman Polyships, is 19.5 metres long and 5.4 metres wide and has a draught of 1.40 metres. It is equipped to carry out scientific research tasks at sea and in coastal waters.

The total budget for this project was 1.5 million euros, financed in part with aid granted by Spain’s State Research Agency, part of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, for the acquisition of cutting-edge scientific-technical equipment within the framework of the 2017-2020 State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation, which ended in November 2021. Thanks to these NextGeneration funds, the Marine Research Centre will have an infrastructure that will strengthen the position of Vigo, and Galicia in general, in coastal oceanographic research, and will allow it to address some of the most critical social challenges related to climate and environmental change, fishing, biodiversity or risk management.

Scientific capacities

The vessel is designed to carry out multidisciplinary scientific research missions such as the analysis of physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of seawater and sediments, conducting observation and mapping tasks of the marine ecosystem, its habitats and the seabed and marine subsoil. It will also have the capacity to install and recover anchored oceanographic equipment, such as oceanographic buoys, the launch of samplers and profilers, and will also provide logistic support for medium and small-sized unmanned underwater vehicles.