In 2014, the UK Government announced funding for the construction of a new polar research vessel for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to replace a pair of existing ships.

For manoeuvring and dynamic positioning, the vessel has four 1,580 kW (2,120 hp) Tees White Gill thrusters with Teignbridge Propellers 60 inch 4 blade rotors,[clarification needed] two in the bow and two in the stern.

[5] The vessel has been strengthened according to the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Unified Requirements for Polar Class Ships.

The majority of the blocks were manufactured by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, but due to a tight schedule, the stern of the ship (named 'Block 10') was fabricated by the A&P Group at Hebburn on the River Tyne.

The stern section was loaded onto the barge by heavy lifting company ALE, using self-propelled modular trailers (SPMT).

A bottle of champagne was smashed across the ship's bow by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, at Cammell Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead.

[20][21] Attenborough was also present at commissioning, stating "This astonishing ship... will find the science with which to deal with the problems that are facing the world today and will increasingly do so tomorrow.

[22] In August, Sir David Attenborough made a brief trip to the Liverpool Cruise Terminal before returning to Cammell Laird for final fitting out ahead of sea trials scheduled for late in the year.

[24] She officially made her maiden voyage to Antarctica on 16 November 2021, from Harwich[25] and arrived at the Rothera Research Station on 17 December 2021 for the first time.

[26] In February 2022, RRS Sir David Attenborough encountered second-year ice with thick snow layer on top that she could not overcome on her own while the vessel was attempting to reach Stange Sound in the English Coast in Antarctica.

However, as the ice conditions became even more unfavourable, RRS Sir David Attenborough had to give up the original plan and seek another drop-off point to deliver scientific cargo to support the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration.

[28] In March 2016, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) announced that members of the public were being asked to suggest names for the ship.

[37] Other leading choices in the poll were Poppy-Mai, in honour of a toddler with incurable cancer,[38] and Henry Worsley, for a British Army officer who died in 2016 while attempting to complete the first solo and unaided crossing of the Antarctic.