$380m ship may be named Boaty McBoatface thanks to an online poll

The Royal Research Ship, at the forefront of British naval engineering, deserved a great name.

Naively thinking the British public would take it seriously, The National Environment Research Council thought it would be a nice idea to ask people online to name the ship.

Everyone was keen to cast their vote.

On Sunday morning, the organisation's website was so popular that it crashed.

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 are more sensible, but others are just as silly.

They include RRS David Attenborough, RRS Pingu and RRS Boat Marley and the Whalers.

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 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.

The NERC asks for the names suggested to be inspirational, such as a historical figure, landmark or movement, and not names of ships which already exist, such as Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The polar explorer is 128 metres long and is due to be in operation in the Arctic and Antarctic from 2019, will carry up to 90 scientists and support staff.

The top 15 suggestions

​- The Telegraph, London