Abstract
Abstract Supporting Antarctic scientific investigation is the job of the national Antarctic programmes, the government entities charged with delivering their countries’ Antarctic research strategies. This requires sustained investment in people, innovative technologies, Antarctic infrastructures, and vessels with icebreaking capabilities. The recent endorsement of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Polar Code (2015) means that countries must address challenges related to an ageing icebreaking vessel fleet. Many countries have recently invested in and begun, or completed, builds on new icebreaking Polar research vessels. These vessels incorporate innovative technologies to increase fuel efficiency, to reduce noise output, and to address ways to protect the Antarctic environment in their design. This paper is a result of a Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) project on new vessel builds which began in 2018. It considers the recent vessel builds of Australia’s RSV Nuyina, China’s MV Xue Long 2, France’s L’Astrolabe, Norway’s RV Kronprins Haakon, Peru’s BAP Carrasco, and the United Kingdom’s RRS Sir David Attenborough. The paper provides examples of purposeful consideration of science support requirements and environmental sustainability in vessel designs and operations.
Highlights
Within the context of the Antarctic Treaty System, there is a fundamental commitment “ : : : to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems : : : ” (Protocol 1991, Article 2) which must underlie all Antarctic activities, including the primary activity of scientific investigation and cooperation toward that end
Against the backdrop of international regulations and in the context of the Antarctic Treaty System, we provide a snapshot of new Antarctic vessels and their capabilities with special reference to scientific and environmental protection capabilities that were implemented as part of the design and construction stage of the new build
When most people think of the Antarctic, they think of a vast continent covered in ice
Summary
Within the context of the Antarctic Treaty System, there is a fundamental commitment “ : : : to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems : : : ” (Protocol 1991, Article 2) which must underlie all Antarctic activities, including the primary activity of scientific investigation and cooperation toward that end. Many countries have recently invested in and begun, or completed, builds on new icebreaking Polar research vessels These vessels incorporate innovative technologies to increase fuel efficiency by introducing improved energy systems, to reduce noise output under normal operations, and to address ways to protect proactively the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems in their design. A. Agulhas II, Cape Town, South Africa, from 21 through 23 October, and the vessel poster session at COMNAP AGM XXX (2018) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to showcase the range of new research vessel builds for Polar waters, COMNAP endorsed a project to publish information on the most recent vessel builds to demonstrate that national Antarctic programmes are considering and incorporating fuel savings, noise reduction, and other environmental operations technologies into their new vessel builds and to showcase new marine research capabilities. A PC 5 vessel, launched on 21 July 2011, was the first ship of its kind built to the IMO International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 2009 rules for passenger ships, leading to several unique factors in its design
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