The Internet Campaign To Name A $300 Million Research Vessel Has Gone Terribly, Terribly Wrong

Having the entire Internet vote on the name of a new $300 million ocean research vessel is probably not the greatest idea the Natural Environment Research Council has ever had. Or maybe it is, depending on who you are.

That, however, is precisely is what's happening right now. NERC took to the web with its #NameOurShip social media campaign so that those passionate about the organization's mission could have a say its future. But without any kind of membership, fee or donation required to vote, a huge collective of people have taken a liking to the idea of dubbing NERC's fancy new boat a not-so-fancy name: The RRS Boaty McBoatface.

The name currently leads in NERC's polls, with runner-ups including the RRS Pillar of Autumn (named after the iconic spaceship from the game Halo) and more serious names like the RRS David Attenborough (a famous U.K. naturalist and broadcaster) and the RRS Henry Worsley (a prominent British explorer). Rather than giving the web a list of names to vote for, users can simply write in whatever names they want.

Hence the name Boaty McBoatface. If nothing else, NERC is definitely attracting attention to its cause, which is likely the ultimate goal of holding a public boat naming contest in the first place. Voting for the new ship has proven so popular that NERC's voting website has been unable to hold up under all of the new web traffic, resulting in maintenance that will hopefully keep the site up and running as people flock to the site to put in a vote for Boaty McBoatface.

Voting went live on March 17 and will conclude in April. NERC hopes to have its new polar research vessel deployed to the Arctic sometime in 2019, with or without an extremely goofy name.

It's just yet another example of how the Internet works. If there is a joke to be made, the Internet will find it. Even if that joke involves naming a very expensive ship a very dumb name.