Three Agencies with Antarctica Stations Charter Ship for Resupply Missions

Three European countries with research stations in Antarctica have formed a unique partnership that involves joint operations to resupply their stations. The project aims to ease the logistical pressures and costs that come with voyages to the southern continent.

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), and Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) have joined forces to share an ice-capable vessel. It will carry out resupply missions to their respective Antarctic research stations for the next 10 years.?

Through the collaboration, the three agencies intend to jointly charter the containership Silver Mary to undertake resupply missions to the UK’s Halley VI station, Norway’s Troll station, and Germany’s Neumayer station. The first voyage for the Norwegian-flagged 113-meter (371-foot) vessel under the partnership will be in January next year. The ship’s AIS shows it is currently making its way to South Africa.

Built in 2005 by the Polish yard Remontowa Shipyard in Gdansk, the vessel was originally called Mary Arctica (6,365 dwt). The ship sailed for Royal Arctic Line before being sold in 2023. Designed for ice operations, the ship has the ability to load up containers in three cargo holds as well as on deck.

For the three research agencies, the groundwork for the partnership was laid following the success of the UK-German collaboration that resupplied the Halley station in the 2023-24 season using the chartered general cargo ship Malik Arctica. In the expanded arrangement, NPI will operate the annual voyages south, with BAS typically joining every other season and sharing voyage costs with NPI and AWI.

BAS is highlighting that the arrangement makes good economic sense as it accords the agency more flexibility to increase calls to the Halley VI station when the need for additional science projects arises. More critically, the collaboration enables BAS to achieve significantly better value than chartering vessels independently.?

The new logistics model also brings about other significant benefits to BAS, specifically creating valuable capacity for its research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, which has been carrying out the resupply operations alongside its research missions in Antarctica. By removing Sir David Attenborough from the resupply voyages, the agency has managed to create 40-60 days of ship time that can be dedicated to research cruises and science delivery elsewhere.

With all three agencies committing to decarbonize their operation, the use of one shared vessel instead of multiple national expeditions is expected to contribute to these goals by reducing the carbon footprint of Antarctic logistics. BAS has already secured funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council to procure low-carbon sustainable fuel for Silver Mary, something that means that over 40 percent of the entire voyage will be done using sustainable fuel.

“By combining logistics and sharing skills, we reduce costs, cut our environmental impact, and strengthen the vital exchange of best practice between Antarctic operators. We can deliver more critical science and make Antarctica a safer place by working together,”?said?Oliver Darke, BAS Director of Polar Operations, Engineering and Infrastructure.

Use of Silver Mary to resupply Halley VI marks a return to normal operations after ice shelf fissures made it impossible to access the station between 2019 and 2023. Access only became possible following the significant calving of the Brunt Ice Shelf in 2023.