The role of virtual prototyping in the early-stage design of a research vessel for the Mediterranean Sea

Research has always been the fundamental tool for the human technological and social pro-gress. Often, it is necessary to perform studies in places that can be reached only with ships specifically de-signed and built. However, from a careful analysis of the available data about existing research vessels in Eu-rope, it appears that their average age is very high, making the work of scientists very difficult. Thus, considering a new generation research ship, new ship design methodologies and tools are required. The pre-sent work, recognizing many similarities with naval ships, proposes the application of an integrated ship de-sign approach. Consequently, modular design principles and tools for virtual prototyping were applied. More-over, these methodological choices were further justified by the adoption of the newest propulsion and energy generation/storage systems.