Wessex archaeology - 04.05.2023
Marine science vessel, The SS Explorer, conservation management sets sail
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The following is an excerpt from the article :
”Wessex Archaeology is developing a Conservation Management Plan for the SS Explorer, in service from 1956 to 1984, was a fishery research ship and a pioneer in climate science work.
The SS Explorer, in service from 1956 to 1984, was a fishery research ship and a pioneer in climate science work. Its scientific mission was to investigate British fish breeding and feeding grounds to better understand fishing levels and species types. The ship also monitored pollution and fish diseases that might adversely affect catches.
Commissioned by the SS Explorer Preservation Society with funding from the Pilgrim Trust, our archaeologists are developing a Conservation Management Plan for this historic vessel. This plan will bring together vital information on the ship and its historical, geographical and scientific connections to support funding applications for further conservation work and endeavours to share its social impact.
Now moored in Leith Docks, the ship was built by Alexander Hall of Aberdeen in 1955 and has been part of the Register of National Historic Ships since 1996. The Explorer is one of the last steam-driven trawlers ever built and represents a combination of traditional technology alongside cutting-edge scientific equipment and experiments. Fitted out with laboratories and retrofitted with an analogue computer, one of the first civilian ships to feature a computer, it represents the best of Scottish shipbuilding and innovation at a time when shipyards were moving away from traditional methods.