''Aurora Australis'' was an Australian

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to sma ...

. Built by

Carrington Slipways Forgacs Shipyard is a shipbuilding company located at Tomago, New South Wales on the Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter Rive ...

and launched in 1989, the vessel is owned by P&O Maritime Services. It was regularly chartered by the

Australian Antarctic Division The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and th ...

(AAD) for research cruises in

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and o ...

waters and to support Australian bases in Antarctica.

Design and construction

Designed as a multi-purpose research and resupply ship, ''Aurora Australis'' was built by

in Tomago. The vessel was launched in September 1989. ''Aurora Australis'' is long, and has a beam of , draught of and moulded depth of . Her displacement is 8,158 tons,

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

6,574 and

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...

3,911 tons. Her propulsion machinery consists of two

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...

medium-speed diesel engines in father-son arrangement, one 16-cylinder 16V32D producing 5,500 kW and one

12-cylinder A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fir ...

12V32D producing 4,500 kW. Both engines are coupled to a single shaft through a reduction gear, driving a single, left-hand-turning controllable-pitch propeller. Slow speed manoeuvring is achieved with three manoeuvring thrusters, one forward and two aft. ''Aurora Australis'' has a maximum speed of , and a cruising speed of . The vessel can break level ice up to thick at .Departmental investigation into the engine room fire onboard the Australian Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel Aurora Australis at the Antarctic ice edge on 22 July 1998
. MIIU. Retrieved 2 April 2012 ''Aurora Australis'' had a crew of 24 and could carry up to 116 passengers accommodated in three or four-bunk cabins with attached bathrooms. The ship has a cargo capacity of for break bulk or 29 twenty-foot equivalent containers, and a supply tank that can hold of fuel. The ship is fitted with laboratories for biological, meteorological, and oceanographic research, and was designed with a

trawl deck Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...

for the deployment and recovery of research instruments while at sea. The ship's hangar and helideck allow for the operation of up to three helicopters, usually Eurocopter Squirrels or

Sikorsky S-76 The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically developed for the civilian market. The S-76 w ...

Operations

''Aurora Australis'' is chartered by the AAD over the southern summer for research purposes, and to support the Antarctic bases operated by the AAD. The vessel spent most winters in port in Hobart, as the AAD headquarters is in the nearby town of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. P&O sometimes chartered the ship for other work during winter. On 8 May 2011, ''Aurora Australis'' was chartered by the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

for a two-month deployment (ending 30 June) as an amphibious transport ship supporting the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. The charter, costing A$3.375 million, was to assist in the Australian government response to humanitarian crises and natural disasters that occurred while the naval heavy lift ship underwent maintenance. In late December 2013, ''Aurora Australis'', Chinese research vessel ''Xuě Lóng'' and French icebreaker ''

L'Astrolabe ''Astrolabe'' was originally a horse-transport barge converted into an exploration ship of the French Navy. Originally named ''Coquille'', she is famous for her travels with Jules Dumont d'Urville. The name derives from an early navigational ins ...

'' attempted to rescue '' Akademik Shokalskiy'', which had become stranded in thick Antarctic ice in

Watt Bay Watt Bay () is a bay about 16 nautical miles (30 km) wide indenting the coast between Garnet Point and Cape De la Motte. Discovered by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–14) under Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE ...

. None of the three ships were able to reach the Russian icebreaker, with ''Aurora Australis'' aborting efforts on the morning of 30 December, due to the risk of the ship also becoming stuck. On 2 February, the 52 passengers from ''Akademik Shokalskiy'' were transported by helicopter to ''Aurora Australis'' by ''Xuě Lóng''s helicopter (the Chinese icebreaker having become trapped as well). After the rescue, ''Aurora Australis'' continued on her original mission to resupply Casey Station, before returning to Hobart on 22 January. The ''Aurora Australis'' returned from its final voyage in March 2020. After 31 years of service to the Australian Antarctic Program, the last trip was a two-week voyage to resupply Macquarie Island and transport expeditioners to the south. Suggestions have been made that the ship could be used as an emergency vessel if acquired by the Australian Government. Another possible use that was suggested for the ship was as an Antarctic-themed museum berthed in Hobart. A not-for-profit organisation, the Aurora Australis Foundation, was established to explore this option. However, by June 2020 it looked like the most likely outcome for the ''Aurora Australis'' was to be sold to the Government of Argentina for further Antarctic deployment.

Engine Room Fire

At 2.25am on 22 July 1998 whilst en route to Antarctica a fire broke out in the engine room. The researchers were on the first winter voyage to the Antarctic, a seven-week expedition to explore, the Mertz Glacier Polynya. On 14 January 1999 whilst en route to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

a fire caused by leaking high pressure diesel igniting on the hot STBD main engine caused a major fire. The fire resulted in zero visibility in the engine room and was suppressed by the release of halonium ion fire suppression system. Re-entry to the compartment resulted in successful restoration of power and propulsion to the ship and it returned to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

under its own power for an investigation by the

Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers ai ...

and major repairs.

Grounding

On 24 February 2016, the vessel was damaged when it ran aground in

Horseshoe Harbour Horseshoe Harbour () is a harbour in Holme Bay, Mac. Robertson Land, Antarctica, formed by the horseshoe-shaped rock projections of West Arm and East Arm. Mawson Station is at the head of this harbour. It was roughly mapped by Norwegian cartograph ...

, near

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

, Antarctica, during a blizzard, after a shackle on a forward mooring line came undone, causing the other three lines to break. It was refloated on 27 February 2016 and returned to Western Australia for repairs.

Replacement

In October 2015, the Australian government announced a plan to acquire a new icebreaker to replace ''Aurora Australis'' by 2019. ''Nuyina'' entered service in 2021.Boaty McBoatface: Australia sees the light on naming new icebreaker after southern aurora
''

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

'', 29 September 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2023. ''Aurora Australis'' was decommissioned in 2020, amid attempts to retain the vessel in Hobart as a floating museum. Although these efforts were unsuccessful, the

ship's tender A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship, used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship. A second and distinctl ...

, ''Aurora Australis II'', was acquired by the Aurora Australis Foundation with the aim of making it the centrepiece of an Australian Antarctic Museum.Aurora Australis II
Aurora Australis Foundation, 5 September 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

References

External links

*
Webcam aboard ''Aurora Australis''

Breaking the Ice
– blog from ''Aurora Australis'' by

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

reporter Karen Barlow, during the January–February 2011 scientific trip to Mertz Glacier {{2016 shipwrecks Icebreakers of Australia 1989 ships Ships built in New South Wales Australia and the Antarctic Ships of P&O (company) Research vessels of Australia Maritime incidents in 2016