Jubail, January 24, 2019, SPA -- Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), inaugurated at Jubail Commercial Port here today the Scientific Research Vessel which serves scientific research in various marine disciplines in the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea and assists in conducting fishery stock assessment and in studying climate changes in various marine ecosystems. On this occasion, Eng. Al-Falih thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for generously supporting the Saudi research and development sector. Eng. Al-Falih also said that "The Scientific Research Vessel supports the scientific research conducted by KACST on the Kingdom's seas. It also enables the Saudi universities as well as national and international firms to carry out maritime research throughout the year in order to search for scientific and practical findings. The Scientific Research Vessel helps fisheries operators to evaluate fish stocks and rationalize their investment." "KACST seeks to build national capabilities and skills in the field of maritime research and to maintain maritime biodiversity in the Kingdom," Eng. Al-Falih added. The five-internal-story Vessel has two dry and wet labs with state-of-the-art equipment, scientific devices for weather and wave monitoring and deep-sea sampling, and a special apparatus for seafloor scanning and mapping. --SPA 19:51 LOCAL TIME 16:51 GMT 0021 www.spa.gov.sa/w825829