''Saint Andrew'' () was the first purpose-built research vessel of the Russian Empire, and one of the world's first

fisheries science Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, ...

vessels. In the late 19th century, those Russian leaders concerned with the welfare of the

Pomors The Pomors (, ) are an ethnographic group traditionally thought to be descended from Russian settlers (primarily from Veliky Novgorod) living on the White Sea coasts and nearby regions, with their southern boundary marked by a watershed dividi ...

(settlers of the Russian north, particularly on the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

coast) became convinced of the need to provide more scientific support for the area's fishing industry (a major activity for the Pomors). Accordingly, with the assent of Finance Minister

Sergei Witte Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (, ; ), also known as Sergius Witte, was a Russian statesman who served as the first prime minister of the Russian Empire, replacing the emperor as head of government. Neither liberal nor conservative, he attracted ...

, ''Saint Andrew'' was commissioned. Formally, construction of the ship was funded by the "Aid Committee For The Settlers Of The Russian North", but actually the construction was paid for out of the imperial treasury. ''Saint Andrew'' was built to specifications developed by fisheries science pioneer

Nikolai Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipovich (also Knipowitsch) (6 April Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S. 25 March1862 – 23 February 1939) was a Russian and Soviet ichthyology">ichthyologist, marine zoologist and oceanographer, nota ...

, in the German

Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a prominent German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement. All together Bremer Vulkan built about 1100 s ...

shipyard. It was designed as a yacht, but with a stern rigged for trawling. Construction began in 1897 and the ship was launched in 1899. (Expeditions began before that, in 1898, using the small sailing vessel ''Pomor'', which had been purchased in Norway.) Until 1907, ''Saint Andrew'' was an expedition vessel for field expeditions of the Murman Scientific Fisheries Expedition, based in Aleksandrovsk-on-Murman (now Polyarny) near

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

. The expeditions were led by Nikolai Knipovich (and later Leonid L. Breytfus). Research carried out on this vessel was the beginning of commercial

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

. From the beginning of its voyages, Vasily N. Chichagov (a descendant of the noble Chichagov family and a seaman and student of

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...

from the Saint Petersburg Yacht Club) was a member of expeditions, serving as captain of ''Saint Andrew'' from 1903 to 1907. (After ''Saint Andrew'' was sold, Chichagov worked for the Directorate of Lighthouses and Navigation in the

.) In 1906 the Murman Scientific Fisheries Expedition lost its financial support (there had been some earlier government dissatisfaction with what was perceived as over-emphasis on pure science as opposed to immediately practical research) and soon shut down. In 1907 ''Saint Andrew'' was transferred to the Russian Navy. In 1910, the ship was renamed ''Murman''.

References

Notes

{{reflist, group=note Ships built in Bremen (state) Research vessels of Russia Fisheries science 1899 ships