The SS (formerly FRS - Fishery Research Ship) Explorer is berthed at Leith Docks. It was launched in 1955 and built by Messrs Alexander Hall & Co., Aberdeen. It features a triple expansion steam engine and is built using rivited steel. It also was one of the first ships to feature a computer. It was operated by the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen to investigate breeding and feeding grounds of commercial fish.
It was decommisioned in 1984 and came after a while to Leith where it is looked after by the SS Explorer Preservation Society.