MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Busy Falklands visit for Endurance

THE company of HMS Endurance have spent an enjoyable few days in Stanley and around the Islands.

The ship's arrival in Port William marked a busy time which included a presentation to students at the Community School, a cocktail party for invited guests and a performance by the ship's band, The Growlers, in the Globe Tavern on Saturday night.

Captain Nick Lambert said the crew had been working long days in Antarctica before they headed here and had looked forward to their break in the Falklands.

The ship sailed from Port William on Saturday; Governor Alan Huckle was collected by one of Endurance's helicopters on Sunday morning and flown to the ship for a trip to some of the settlements on West Falklands and the surrounding Islands.

During their time west, Captain Lambert said, the crew were planning to look for the wreck of the Coventry, to accurately log her position on their Global Positioning System (GPS).

This is a longer than usual South Atlantic tour for the ship, nine months instead of her usual six. Captain Lambert said this will be a trial to maximise the ship's time in the ice during the austral summer and also means the ship will be able to do more work "on the diplomacy front."

Endurance is off to South Georgia this week to embark on work focused on the breeding season of fur seals including an aerial count. They will also survey King Haakon Bay and carry out accurate positioning of South Georgia by GPS.

After spending Christmas in Rio de Janeiro, they will head south to Antarctica again, including South Georgia and South Orkneys, then down to Signy for the shutting down of the BAS base there.

Captain Lambert said Endurance tries to come to the Islands as often as possible, "...because we know the relationship with the Falklands is important." However, he added, "if we're in the Falkland Islands all the time, we're not representing the Navy elsewhere. We visit Chile, Argentina, Brazil and South Africa as a visible presence of the UK Government." Penguin News