Icebreaker HMS Protector, formerly MV Polarbjørn, has spent the spring and summer steadily being converted into a hydrographic survey ship to plug the gap left by HMS Endurance which nearly sank during a flooding incident in late 2008.
The next Royal Navy Ice patrol vessel is expected this week in Portsmouth where she will be taking over the navy’s Antarctic mission in November following the accident suffered by HMS Endurance in 2008.