''Dana'' was the primary Danish research vessel for almost 40 years. It was built in 1937 and served research purposes until 1980. On the first cruise into the North Atlantic in 1938 it was discovered that the ship was unsuited for its purpose, as it was not sufficiently stable to allow scientific work. It was returned to the shipyard and extended by in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1940-1945) the ship was kept and maintained in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

harbour, but with vital engine parts removed and thus never seized by the German occupation force. The main work from ''Dana'' was to conduct marine biological and hydrographical research in the Baltic, North Sea and waters around

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. In 1966 ''Dana'' was on a cruise to the

Sargasso Sea The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it is the only one without land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Oc ...

and

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

(cruise leader Erik Berthelsen), with primary aims to conduct hydrographical research and continue research on the

reproductive biology Reproductive biology includes both sexual and asexual reproduction. Reproductive biology includes a wide number of fields: * Reproductive systems * Endocrinology * Sexual development (Puberty) * Sexual maturity * Reproduction * Fertility H ...

of the

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be differe ...

. ''Dana'' was succeeded by the research vessel ''Dana'' (IV) in 1980. The ship served for a period as guard and crew exchange vessel for oil and gas installations in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and was eventually sold to P&T Charters. It was completely refurbished, rigged as a 3-masted

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

under the name of ''Gulden Leeuw'' and continues to sail as a charter vessel.

References

{{reflist 1937 ships Research vessels of Denmark Ships built in Denmark