The trimaran was launched in 1998 as Cable and Wireless Adventurer, for a project to sail around the world in under 80 days. That year she circled the globe in 74 days, a record for a motor vessel, later beaten in 2008 by Earthrace.
She was then used to carry passengers in South Africa. In 2010 she was sold to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and carried out her first mission, Operation No Compromise, as Gojira.
The following year she was renamed Brigitte Bardot, in tribute to the actress and her animal-protection campaigning. On 28 December 2011 a rogue wave badly damaged her while she was chasing the whaler Nisshin Maru; most of the crew were evacuated and the Steve Irwin towed her to Fremantle. She was relaunched on 16 April 2012.
In 2021 Oceanic Assistance, an offshore ship-rescue company, bought her and renamed her Merida, with Lorient as home port.
3 Nov 2026, 22:31
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