''S. A. Agulhas II'' is a South African

icebreaking 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 sm ...

polar supply and

research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

owned by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). She was built in 2012 by

STX Finland STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding compan ...

Rauma shipyard in Rauma, Finland, to replace the ageing ''

S. A. Agulhas ''S. A. Agulhas'' is a South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel. She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1978. ''S. A. Agulhas'' was used to service the three South African Nat ...

'', which was retired from Antarctic service in April 2012. Unlike her predecessor, ''S. A. Agulhas II'' was designed from the beginning to carry out both scientific research and supply South African research stations in the

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 ...

. During a voyage to the Weddell Sea in February and March 2022, the ''Agulhas II'' served as the mother ship for the Endurance22 Expedition of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. Using a submersible vehicle, participants in the expedition located the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, '' Endurance'', at a depth of beneath the surface on the floor of Weddell Sea. The ''Endurance'' had sunk in 1915 after being crushed by ice.

Development and construction

In November 2009 the South African Department of Water and Environmental Affairs signed a 116 million euro ( R 1.3 billion) contract with

for the construction of a new polar research and supply vessel that would replace the ageing ''S. A. Agulhas'', which was scheduled to be retired by 2012. The shipyard, located in Rauma, Finland, beat competing bids from Astellero Barreras from Spain, Damen Shipyards from the Netherlands and Keppel Singmarine from Singapore. The production began with the steel-cutting ceremony in September 2010. The keel of the new ship, referred to by her yard number as NB 1369, was laid down on 31 January 2011. She was launched on 21 July 2011 and named ''S. A. Agulhas II''. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' conducted her open water sea trials in February 2012 and, in order to verify the results of model tests, ice trials in the Bay of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea between 19 and 24 March. During the latter voyage the ship encountered level ice up to thick and performed beyond expectations.Ice-breaker SA Agulhas II passes with flying colours
DailyNews, 27 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-06 In addition the hull and machinery of the vessel were instrumented to measure full-scale ice loads, and in the future ''S. A. Agulhas II'' will be used as a research platform by companies and universities from Finland and South Africa to gain more knowledge about the interaction between ice and the ship. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' was handed over to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs on 4 April 2012 and left Finland for South Africa the following day. She arrived at her home port, Cape Town on 3 May. During a ceremony celebrating the arrival, the ship was dedicated to the memory of the singer Miriam Makeba.

Design

General characteristics

The maximum overall length of ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is and her length between perpendiculars is . The beam and depth of her hull are and , respectively, and the maximum breadth of the ship is . The draught of ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is . Her displacement is 13,687 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 weigh ...

is 12,897, net tonnage 3,870 and deadweight tonnage 4,780 tons. She is served by a crew of 45. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is classified by Det Norske Veritas with a class notation ''1A1 PC-5 WINTERIZED BASIC Passenger Ship LFL* COMF-V(2)C(2) HELDK-SHF DEICE RP E0 DYNPOS-AUT NAUT-AW CLEAN DESIGN DAT(−35 °C) BIS TMON''. Her ice class, Polar Class 5, means that she is designed for year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions. Her decks are heated to prevent ice accumulation in temperatures as low as . ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is the first ship of her kind to be built to the new SOLAS 2009 rules for passenger ships, leading to several unique aspects in her design.

Facilities

Unlike her predecessor, ''S. A. Agulhas II'' was built from the beginning as both a polar supply ship as well as a research vessel. She has both onboard laboratories for scientific research as well as cargo holds and tanks for supplies for South African polar research stations. In addition she has accommodations for 100 passengers in 46 cabins and facilities such as gym, library, sauna, business centre and a 100-seat auditorium. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' has eight permanent and six containerized laboratories for different fields of marine, environmental, biological and climate research totaling . Deep-water probes can be launched either via a large door in the side of the vessel or, if the ship is operating in ice-infested waters, through a moon pool. A drop keel containing transducers for the measurement of plankton density and ocean currents can be lowered below the bottom of the ship. A hydraulic A-frame in the stern of the ship can be used to tow sampling nets and dredges. To transport supplies to polar research stations, the ship has a cargo hold located in the bow of the vessel. It is served by a 35-ton main crane and three 10-ton general cargo cranes, all of which can also be used to lower scientific equipment and vehicles on ice. When heavy loads are being lifted, a heeling tank is used to balance the vessel. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is the first ship of her kind to be allowed to carry both passengers and fuel, such as polar diesel, Jet A helicopter fuel and petrol, as cargo. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' has a hangar and helideck capable of serving two Atlas Oryx or Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters. She also has two fast rescue craft, which are on standby during helicopter operations, and two fully enclosed lifeboats for 75 personnel. ''S.A. Agulhas II'' is fitted with a state of the art Raytheon Anschutz integrated bridge navigation system. The vessel maintains positioning during offloading at the ice shelf, as well as during scientific survey work, using a Navis Engineering DP4000 dynamic positioning system.

Power and propulsion

''S. A. Agulhas II'' is powered by four six-cylinder Wärtsilä 6L32 medium-speed diesel generating sets, each producing . To fulfill the International Maritime Organisation’s Safe Return to Port requirement, the main engines are located in two separate engine rooms and the ship is capable of returning to port with one engine room flooded. Designed according to the power plant principle in which the main generators supply electricity for all shipboard consumers, ''S. A. Agulhas II'' has no separate auxiliary generators. In case of emergency, electricity is provided by a Volvo Penta emergency diesel generator. The ship has a diesel-electric powertrain with two Converteam 4,500 kW propulsion motors driving KaMeWa controllable pitch propellers,R1.3bn icebreaker rounds off SA’s research investment south of Cape Agulhas
Engineering News, 6 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-06 a relatively uncommon feature in diesel-electric ships which usually use fixed-pitch propellers. The propulsion system gives her a maximum speed of in open water, but her service speed is slightly lower, and at her operating range is . Furthermore, ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is designed to be able to break level ice with a thickness of at .SA Agulhas II handed over to South Africa
defenceWeb, 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-06 For dynamic positioning and manoeuvring in ports she has two Rolls-Royce bow thrusters and one stern thruster.

References

External links

South African National Antarctic Programme
– owner's official website {{SANAP navbox Agulhas II South African National Antarctic Programme 2011 ships Research vessels Ships built in Rauma, Finland