MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

HMS Endurance in Portsmouth by end of March, say rescuers

HMS Endurance docked at Mare Harbour

Logistics experts from Netherlands Dockwise's subsidiary Dockwise Shipping in Bermudas are working closely with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to recover the Royal Navy ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance currently anchored in the Falkland Islands.

HMS Endurance encountered technical difficulties that left her without propulsion and ended towed to the Falkland Islands, and now is in need of a transport home to Portsmouth to effect repairs needed to make her operational again. Dockwise has been contracted by the MoD for the task. According to plans HMS Endurance will be dry-transported on the deck of the Dockwise semi-submersible heavy lift vessel, Target, which has already been deployed due to its close proximity in the area and its ability to assist on short notice. The operation involves engineering and fabrication of a fitting support structure. Preparation of the vessel's deck will be completed prior to arrival at the collection point. HMS Endurance will be loaded onto the deck of the Target in waters off the coast of East Falkland in late February. The eight-thousand nautical mile transit back to the UK is expected to take approximately four weeks. The Endurance is due to arrive in Portsmouth before the end of March. "We discussed the MoD's request knowing that it was an urgent requirement and that it was vital for the UK's overseas interests to get the HMS Endurance repaired and back to operational status as soon as possible", said Dockwise CEO, Andre Goedée. "We've made every resource available to ensure the operation goes smoothly and without delay. The expertise and resources of Dockwise are designed for this sort of operation, and we pride ourselves on delivering high quality, efficient and risk-free solutions to our customers" added Goedée. Dockwise Ltd. with a workforce of more than 1200 people both offshore and onshore and is the leading marine contractor providing total transport services to the offshore, onshore and yachting industries as well as installation services of extremely heavy offshore platforms. The group is headquartered in Bermuda with amongst others operational offices in Breda, The Netherlands. The group's main commercial offices are located in The Netherlands, the United States, China, Korea, Australia and Nigeria. The Dockwise Yacht Transport business unit is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale and has offices in France and Italy. The Dockwise Shipping network is supported by agents in Japan, Singapore, Spain, Argentina, Australia and Italy.