HMS Protector on route to the Antarctic previous surveying in St Helena
The Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol ship HMS Protector is on her way for an eight-month deployment surveying and patrolling Antarctica. She left Portsmouth late September and is currently visiting St Helena to conduct surveys of the harbour in preparation for the building of a new jetty.
HMS Protector is scheduled to call in the Falkland Islands and will arrive in Antarctica for the austral summer and has plans to make four forays into the ice. During this time she will utilize her multi beam echo sounder and deploy her survey motor boat to ensure the UK provides cutting-edge, hydrographic imagery of the Antarctic region.
Around 80% of the world’s charts are provided by the Royal Navy’s hydrographic department.
The ship will also assist with the re-supply of British Antarctic Survey stations in the region.
Protector’s Commanding Officer, Captain Peter Sparkes, said: “Building upon the success - and the lessons identified - from HMS Protector’s inaugural deployment to Antarctica, the ship and her company is ready in all respects to face again the challenges of the southern ocean. HMS Protector exemplifies the Royal Navy’s global reach and the UK government’s commitment to British interests in the South Atlantic.”
The 5.000 ton ice patrol is equipped with a flotilla of small boats, including: the state-of-the-art survey motor boat, ‘James Caird IV’; a. 8.5m ramped Work Boat, ‘Terra Nova’, and; two Pacific 22 rigid inflatable boats (‘Aurora and ‘Nimrod’). Three BV206 all-terrain vehicles and four quad bikes, complete with trailers, will also be carried and craned directly onto the ice to assist with the re-supply of British Antarctic Survey scientific stations.
HMS Protector has a historic connection with Britain's Antarctic commitment: it was the name of the ship, which preceded the former Endurance (1968-91) in the South Atlantic role.
She will carry out all the functions of an Antarctic patrol ship such as deployed to patrol and survey the Antarctic and South Atlantic, maintaining a UK presence and supporting the international community in the region. This involves close links with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the UK Hydrographic Office and the British Antarctic Survey.
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The BAS is a scientific organisation. It is as simple as that.
As for the minefields. Have fun playing war while you clear them.
I wonder if you meant wander?
Of course, if you did, I wonder if you knew what wander really meant?
“”“As for the minefields. Have fun playing war while you clear them.”“”
Its hard work, especially when those who laid them broke all sorts of conventions and failed to record their positions accurately. I imagine that such actions are carefully written-out of existence in some histories though.
Conveniently.
What a scornful jealous weasel that “ProRG” is... Finding it funny that unchartered mines are still on the Falklands is the mark of a spineless cowardly scum sucking maggot.
When comments like that are made, it only makes the resolve of the FI's far stronger.
With an attitude like yours, we will always hate you.
“Another spy mission under wraps. No question about it.”
You are seriously a weapons grade retard. what planet are you on? because it ain't Planet Earth. I suppose, in your paranoid state HMS Endurance was a spy ship as well? yes? clown.
“As for the minefields. Have fun playing war while you clear them.”
What? you mean like those unmapped minefields you lot left on the Falkland Islands? thanks for that, as well as those grenades you so thoughtfully left in the schools for children to discover....... to a man, may you all burn in hell.
@3 Spying on the cold ice!
@6 Let's carry on returning argie mines to argieland. But apparently British and FI-flagged vessels can't dock in argieland. So we can just drop them off where we can. Still live. Good luck with that, argies. Watch where you walk, where you drive, where you “sail”, where you swim.
@12 How I agree with you! One digger. Dig 'em up, dump the mess in a rusty container and send it to argieland. If they won't take it, dump it overboard. Who would want argies, alive or dead, on or in their land?
@13 Don't ignore us! Here in Britain, we hate them too. 255 British servicemen and 3 Falkland Islanders. Payback must include at least a million argie corpses. Although 10 million would be better. Including EVERY member of the argie so-called government. CFK should be last. She should get to watch every one of her cronies disembowelled and, where possible, castrated and then see the carcasses on butchers' hooks. Just so she knows what's coming. But her death should be slow. Very slow. Chopping a bit off every day. Leaving it to bleed. Hacking them all apart with a chain or circular saw!
Says it all really...
It can't possibly be a spy ship!!! If it was a spy ship, we would have painted “I am spy ship” on the side of it!!!
ProRG_American is such a fool. Somewhere out there, there is a village that's missing it's idiot..........
Spying on what . Has Argentina got a secret military base underwater just off the Antarctic shelf manned by gill men and mermaids. Is this why you are so scared. Makes as much sense as the drivel you spout !
if it was not for the good nice and friendly british,
the argentine navy would not exist,
we left it alone after the belgrano,
we could have sunk the lot,
ungratfull aint you....
still,
thats what not moving does to you,
[keeps you still] .lol.
Instead they had to act like spoiled children (aka Argies).
Where are the $5 billion of investment over the next 10 years into SeaLion being spent? - Answer, mostly in equipment and materials from UK!!!
You know what- CFK - could yet be the cause of helping UK get out of the recession well ahead of the rest of Europe! Thankyou Argentina for your stance over Oil off the Falklands!
You wont be laughing when it sails off with your flagship.
Oh wait somebody else already stole it :)
Ghanians pirates of africa somali is going to be annoyed.
We call it,
Creeping empire.
Spot on-yes thank you kind Argentina for pulling out of the oil exploration agreement so the UK can sell oil expertise to the Falkland Islands, instead of you getting the money.
Perhaps the UK government could make a cocession over soveriegntyto Argentina over the parts of the Islands that are mined?
Then the Argies could sent governors to each mined area until they go BANG!
does what it says on the side.
It came back to the UK in her luggage by courtesy of HMS Keppel
She gave it to my son. and I found it in a box in the loft a few weeks ago.
A bit of naval history as the ship was returning home to be decommissioned.
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