It's 10 decks high, cost $126 million and catapults Australia into the marine science big league, but there was no one from the federal government on the dock in Hobart to greet CSIRO's new flagship when it arrived on Tuesday.
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First mooted under the Howard government and ultimately funded by Labor in 2009, the Investigator was given as ecstatic a welcome as could be expected from scientists standing in wind-driven rain.
"I can't begin to describe the amazing feeling to have it tied up in Hobart," said Toni Moate, executive director of the ship project. "We've been working for over 10 years on this."
But the "pinch me" moment for Australian marine science comes as the CSIRO battles budget cuts, staff redundancies and the closure of 30 science library branches.
Though Investigator is designed for 300 days per year of operations, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane confirmed it would only be funded for 180 days' sea time annually.
Mr Macfarlane, the minister responsible for the CSIRO, was in Canberra at government meetings, his spokeswoman said. No government representative was present on the dock and the welcoming crowd was limited to CSIRO staff and families.
Mr Macfarlane said in a statement that the government was spending $161 million this year to secure vital assets like the Investigator, and his spokeswoman said he would attend a "welcome to port" ceremony later in the year.
Labor industry spokesman Kim Carr said: "The value of this ship to Australian science and industry is immense, but the government doesn't even think it's important enough to have a duty senator turn up for its arrival.
"It's quite clear the government doesn't understand how important the CSIRO is to Australia."
Though delivered a year late, the arrival of the 6082-tonne Investigator meant a big step up in Australia's marine science capacity, CSIRO oceanographer Bernadette Sloyan said.
"Now that we have a world-class research vessel we can bring the expertise on," Dr Sloyan said.
Investigator can stay at sea for 60 days compared to the previous Southern Surveyor's 25 days, and carry 40 scientists instead of 12. It can cruise anywhere from the Antarctic ice edge to the tropics.
Its technology includes a stabilisation system so efficient that a bottle of water stayed upright on a desk throughout the two-week delivery voyage from its Singapore dockyard.
Investigator will undergo equipment fit-out and sea trials in Hobart before taking on its first scientific voyage, scheduled early in 2015.
