Boaty McBoatface: Ship gets name to laugh at

The British public has decided the best name for the ship is 'Boaty McBoatface'. Photo / NERCscience Twitter

The British public has decided the best name for a £200 million ship is 'Boaty McBoatface', the Daily Telegraph reports.

The National Environment Research Council thought it would be a nice idea to ask people online to name the Royal Research Ship.

One name was massively in front of the rest - Boaty McBoatface.

In second place, more than 13,000 votes behind, is the RRS Henry Worsley - named after the explorer who died while attempting to trek the Antarctic in January.

James Hand, who put the suggestion forward, described it as "an absolutely brilliant name".

Other names included RRS David Attenborough, RRS Pingu and RRS Boat Marley and the Whalers the Daily Telegraph reports.

However, the poll is just a suggestion, so there is no guarantee the boat name will be suggested by the public.

The £200 million vessel will set off for Antarctica in 2019 and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) invited the public to submit ideas for the name it should bear on its hull.

Once completed the ship, funded by the British Government and under construction at Cammell Laird shipyard, Merseyside, will be deployed on research missions to the Arctic and Antarctic and be able to spend up to 60 days at sea.