National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

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The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, commonly abbreviated to NIWA, and known in the Māori language as Taihoro Nukurangi, is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. It is New Zealand's leading provider of environmental research. NIWA undertakes both commercial research and non-commercial research.

NIWA has 650 staff at 15 sites around New Zealand. The headquarters are in Auckland, with other research campuses in Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson and Lauder. NIWA also has operations in Australia and the United States.

[edit] NIWA Vessels

Niwa operates a range of vessels for research purposes, of which three are operated by a subsidiary company NIWA Vessel Management Ltd. The RV Tangaroa is designed for offshore research and can operate from subtropical to subantarctic regions, whereas the RV Kaharoa is designed for coastal research. NIWA Vessel Management Ltd. employs ~40 staff and has a turnover of $8 million per year.