The R/V Mário Ruivo is a 75.6 m long research vessel that accommodates 45 persons, including 30 scientists and 15 crew members. It was built in 1986 as a support vessel of the Royal Navy (designated as Salmaid) and later on was purchased by the Scottish company Hays Ships and renamed as Kommandor Calum. In 2013, she underwent a refit with the addition of a new bow and a new deck in the superstructure, and was converted into a multipurpose survey vessel. Mário Ruivo is adapted to support fisheries research and ROV operations, and research cruises taking place mainly in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship is equipped with laboratories and several pieces of equipment (e.g., trawl doors, 10 T A-frame and a 30 T crane, EMRI dynamic positioning (DP) system) able to support pelagic and benthic trawl fishing activities and geophysical operations.