RV ''Araon'' is a large
icebreaker operated by the Government of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
[
]
The vessel was commissioned in 2009.
She supplies the
King Sejong Station
The King Sejong Station is a research station for the Korea Antarctic Research Program that is named after King Sejong the Great of Joseon (1397–1450).
Established on February 17, 1988, it consists of 11 facility buildings and two observato ...
, and the
Jang Bogo Station
The Jang Bogo Station in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica is a permanent South Korean research station. It is the second base of South Korean Antarctic research mission (after King Sejong Station), and the first that is located in mainland Antarctica. ...
, South Korea's second
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 other ...
research station.
She underwent her
sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s in January 2010, in the
Ross Sea.
[
][
]
Her first foreign
port of call was
Lyttelton, New Zealand.
[
][
][
]
The first location her crew investigated, for a South Korean Antarctic base, in the
Cape Burks area, was not deemed suitable, and she then investigated the selected site in
Terra Nova Bay.
[
In December 2011, she was instrumental in the rescue of the Russian trawler '']Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
'', trapped in Antarctic sea ice.[ ]
Her class notation is ''KRS1-Special purpose ship (Research vessel) PL10, DAT (-30 deg. C), HMS1, KRM1-UMA3, DPS2, NBS2''.
References
2009 ships
Icebreakers
Ships of South Korea
South Korea and the Antarctic
Ships built by Hanjin Heavy Industries
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