Launching Ceremony for MFRI´s new research vessel Thorunn Thordardottir

The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute´s (MFRI) new research vessel will be launched to sea today, January 12^th, in Vigo, Spain. The vessel will then be given the name Thorunn Thordardottir in a formal launching ceremony. The name honours the first Icelandic woman who dedicated her life to marine research and a great pioneer in phytoplankton research in the ocean surrounding Iceland. MFRI expects to receive the vessel by the end of the year. It will replace the vessel HF30 Bjarni Sæmundsson which has served Icelandic marine research for the last 54 years.

Thorsteinn Sigurdsson, CEO of MFRI says that the new research vessel marks a significant milestone for marine research in Iceland, where the economy is heavily dependent on fisheries and hence research that support sustainable utilization. „It is with great pleasure and that we name our new research vessel Thorunn Thordardottir in the name of a woman who worked at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute all her professional life but Thorunn´s greatest scientific achievement was pioneering research on primary production in Icelandic oceans, which is the foundation of the food chain in the ocean. Thorunn´s contribution to science is important to all of us and so it is appropriate that the new vessel carries her name for marine research for the next generations of scientist,” says Sigurdsson.