After sailing more than 1.3 million miles, the research vessel Knorr is back at the port. The ship, which has crossed the equator for over 43 times, is back on the sea for the last time.

On Wednesday, the famous vessel was on port after 44 years of great oceanic discoveries. The vessel was the one that discovered the wreckage of the RMS Titanic and made many other oceanic and biological discoveries.

When it was docked at the port, a lot of fireworks were done and it was given a cannon salute. As per the Cape Cod Times, the crew pasted handmade farewell signs on the sides of the ships. One of the banner read, 'So long, old girl'.

The Navy owns the ship and it will be the one to sell it. Next spring, the ship will be replaced with a new $74 million research vessel, the Neil Armstrong. Bob Pickart, a senior Woods Hole scientist, who has done four tours on the ship, was quite sad to know that the ship will be replaced.

Rob Munier, Oceanographic Institute's Vice-President of Marine Operations, explained that majority of the research ships are retired after 40 years. But Knorr has already crossed that limit by a few years. Knorr has faced a number of challenges during its service, ranging from 70-foot waves, hurricanes and arctic ice.

Kent Sheasley, who captained the ship since 2006, affirmed that Knorr is one of the best riding ships in bad weather. Not only Knorr, but its sister ship, research vessel Melville, will also be replaced with another vessel. The R/V Armstrong that would replace Knorr is more efficient vessel and boasts more advanced technology. Its weak points are that the vessel cannot have many crew members, scientists or equipment.

"The future of this research is about as uncertain now as the future of the Knorr", stated Jim Broda, a senior research specialist aboard the ship who designed the long core system.