KAUST has announced that Freire Shipyards, which has over 100 years of shipbuilding experience, will build its new research vessel, RV Thuwal II, at its yard in Vigo, Spain. Upon the expected completion in 2026, RV Thuwal II will be the first regional class research vessel for Saudi Arabia and enable complete access to the Red Sea, including coastal waters and the deep sea.  

RV Thuwal II will be the flagship of the Saudi research vessel fleet and available to serve all marine research interests of the nation including giga-projects and government ministries. It will have the capacity to explore all the major scientific interests of the Red Sea, such as coral reefs, other marine life and geological formations, which will both strengthen Saudi research and attract more international partners. With the Red Sea already of high interest to many scientific communities, the vessel will encourage more scientific collaboration, strengthening the Kingdom’s status as a scientific leader. 

Accordingly, RV Thuwal II, which will be 50 m in length and 12.8 m in width with a draft of 3.6 m, has been designed for a 30-year lifespan; its modular design allows for multiple types of experimental laboratories to serve existing and future marine technology for Red Sea exploration. This modularity also allows for incorporating new green propulsion technologies to lower its carbon footprint over the years. In addition to its primary function as a research vessel, RV Thuwal II will also be able to support national responses to emergencies like oil spills and marine and aviation accidents in the Red Sea. 

From a scientific perspective, RV Thuwal II has a capacity for 30 people, 12 of whom are expected crew, and the remaining slots open to researchers. The new ship will be capable of exploring the deepest parts of the Red Sea and of deploying a variety of remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles to conduct visual and acoustic surveys, sample seawater and map the seafloor.  

RV Thuwal II was designed by Glosten (United States), who will continue to provide off-site engineering support during the construction. Maritime Survey International (Australia) was selected as KAUST’s on-site owners' representative and will oversee the day–to-day construction activities.  

The planning of RV Thuwal II has involved dozens of stakeholders in the Kingdom, including giga-projects, government ministries and several in-Kingdom universities, with expertise in ocean science and marine operations.  

"RV Thuwal II symbolizes KAUST's commitment to enhancing Saudi Arabia's research infrastructure and the exploration of the Red Sea.  The ship will be accessible to partners with a shared interest in understanding the Red Sea and unlocking its vast potential," said KAUST Vice President of Research Pierre Magistretti. 

"It is an honor for Freire Shipyard to collaborate with KAUST in building the RV Thuwal II, a vessel that not only symbolizes KAUST's commitment to enhancing Saudi Arabia's research infrastructure and exploring the Red Sea but also opens up new opportunities for scientific collaboration and technological advancement in the region," said Marcos Friere Garcia, one of the director generals of Friere Shipyard. 

The Red Sea is of critical importance to the Kingdom’s transformation over the next several decades and is a major component of Vision 2030 and beyond. Its study will impact food security, water management, urban planning and many other economic sectors as well as create hundreds of thousands of jobs and provide a wealth of knowledge about our planet and the life that inhabits it.