Boaty McBoatface beaten by Sir David Attenborough in UK science ship naming

The UK's new £200 million polar research ship will not be called Boaty McBoatface. The decision was announced early on Friday morning by the UK science minister, Jo Johnson.

Instead, the new ship will be called the RRS (Royal Research Ship) Sir David Attenborough—a name that also picked up a few votes in the same poll that saw Boaty McBoatface come out way on top.

Showing at least a little bit of political savvy, Jo Johnson didn't completely discard the people's choice: RRS Sir David Attenborough will be outfitted with a number of remotely operated underwater vehicles (see gallery above), and one of those will be called Boaty McBoatface. Hopefully they'll paint a dorky face on the front of its torpedo-like frame.

In a statement Jo Johnson said: "The public provided some truly inspirational and creative names, and while it was a difficult decision I’m delighted that our state-of-the-art polar research ship will be named after one of the nation’s most cherished broadcasters and natural scientists."

Sir David also chimed in: "I am truly honoured by this naming decision and hope that everyone who suggested a name will feel just as inspired to follow the ship’s progress as it explores our polar regions. I have been privileged to explore the world’s deepest oceans alongside amazing teams of researchers, and with this new polar research ship they will be able to go further and discover more than ever before."

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) had originally planned to name the new ship via an online poll. Shortly after the poll began in March, James Hand, a former BBC radio presenter, proposed the name Boaty McBoatface. The name went viral and quickly picked up tens of thousands more votes than any other. The final tally was 124,109 votes for Boaty McBoatface, 34,371 for Poppy-Mai, and then a handful of others at around 10,000 (Sir David Attenborough picked up 10,284 votes).

The new ship, which is being built in Birkenhead on Merseyside by Cammell Laird, is due to set sail in 2019. The icebreaker will be operated by the British Antarctic Survey in both the Arctic and the Antarctic oceans, spending up to 60 days in and around sea ice during each sortie. The primary purpose of the ship will be oceanic research (which Boaty McBoatface and her fellow robotic submarines will help with), focusing on how to address climate change. The ship will have a helipad (the first UK polar research ship to have one) and a number of on-board laboratories.

Yesterday, following the naming debacle surrounding the ship, the UK's parliamentary science and technology committee began an investigation into "science communication" and NERC's approach to naming the ship.

You have to hand it to the science minister: if you're going to take a huge political hit by ignoring the public's choice, naming the ship after one of the few universally loved Britons is really quite smart. No one's going to complain about a ship being named after Sir David—and it's his 90th birthday this weekend. Damn you, Jo Johnson, damn you!