During 1967–2008 Brazil operated
Professor W. Besnard, its only
oceanographic vessel at that time. The ship was launched on August 18, 1966, from the shipyard
Mjellem & Karlsen,
Norway, and belonged to the Institute of Oceanography of the
University of São Paulo. In 1988 the ship suffered damage from a fire. In 2012 a new ship,
Alpha Crucis, has replaced the
Professor W. Besnard. ==References==