Freire shipyard was awarded the international tendered for a multipurpose oceanographic vessel whose ultimate owner is the Environmental Studies Centre of Qatar University.

The object of this contract is a 39 m. long vessel with diesel and diesel-electric hybrid propulsion able to carry out all kind of oceanographic, physics, chemical and geophysical, researches. The vessel will be fitted with ROV, CTD, multibeam echosounder, sub bottom profile and a diverse range of laboratories placing Qatar University as one of the most advanced universities regarding oceanography.

The contract came into force last September 2009 and delivery is scheduled for April 2011.