President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhiy Shkarlet to develop a plan for the restoration of the research fleet.
He said this at a meeting of the Presidium of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Odessa, on the 29th of October.
Today, Mr. Shkarlet, our Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, is present here. I really look forward from him, this is a new task, a difficult task, I am sure that we will cope: we are waiting for a large-scale program for the revival of the research fleet for the next five to ten years. We propose to set such a high bar for ourselves, it is not easy, but very logical. And the goal is 36 scientific vessels, 12 of them are ocean-going of ice-class.
Volodymyr Zelensky
The President stressed that with the acquisition of the James Clark Ross icebreaker, Ukraine began to return to the world ocean.
"What exactly does this give us? This is a great opportunity to study the resources of the ocean, to participate on an equal footing in global world projects. The oceans are the space where most of the scientific discoveries take place in the 21st century. And in order to have a worthy place there, in this space, Ukraine must build its ships and buy while, unfortunately, they are not being built yet," Zelensky stressed.
He also called on all regions to join the construction and development of shipping in Ukraine.
As reported, Ukraine acquired the British icebreaker James Clark Ross on August 19, and on August 30, the ship was officially handed over in the port of Frederikshavn (Denmark), and a blue and yellow flag was hoisted over it. On October 5, the ship arrived at the Odessa seaport.
