ROTTERDAM: After a two-year around-the-world ocean voyage inspired by Charles Darwin, scientists and crew sailed home on a historie vesselinto Rotterdam on Thursday bearing a warning about climate change but also a message of hope.

The majestic three-masted Oosterschelde, the last remaining vessel from a fleet of Dutch schooners that criss-crossed the globe in the early 20th century, arrived to a welcome befitting a voyage of more than 40,000 nautical miles (74,000 kilometres, 46,000 miles).

Ceremonially escorted by more than a dozen vessels ranging from tall ships to steamships, all blaring horns, the Oosterschelde received a `water cannon salute` from fire service boats, as hundreds waved and cheered from the banks.

Like Darwin in 1831, the Oosterschelde departed the British port of Plymouth in August 2023 to embark on a voyage of discovery that took in the major stops explore d during the British naturalist`s worldchanging mission aboard the HMS Beagle.

From the Falkland Islands to the southern tips of Africa, South America and Australia, the trip closely shadowed Darwin`s voyage that inspired his groundbreaking theory of natural selection described in `On the Origin of Species`.

Aboard the Oosterschelde at various points of the voyage were some of the world`s best young conservationists, 100 scientists aged 18-25, selected to study a species also observed by Darwin, himself aged 22 at the time of his trip.

Giant tortoises, Chilean dolphins, and howler monkeys were just some of the weird and wonderful creatures the young `Darwin Leaders` investigated, tracking changes since their appearance in `Origin of Species` two centuries ago.-AFP