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HMS Protector (A173) is the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship. She sails the waters of Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere and is deployed for 330 days a year.
HMS Protector is the Royal Navy’s only Ice Patrol Ship. She calls the freezing waters of Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere home.
She is affectionately referred to as the Royal Navy’s ‘swiss army knife’ – red, versatile, and always there when you need her!
HMS Protector’s crew includes includes a team of Hydrographers, who undertake exploratory surveys and ensure that environmental guidelines are being upheld.
This ice patroller is well-equipped with 2 cranes capable of lifting up to 60 tonnes of stores and equipment.
Her powerplant
The thickness of ice her hull glides through
Total displacement
With a team of mountain leader-trained Royal Marines, Protector is ready for every mission Antarctica might throw at her. She offers:
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Just like a regular service for your car, all ships go through maintenance to ensure best performance.
Deployed working with other allied nations conducting Defence Engagement.
Antarctica
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Protective patrol in the most extreme conditions
HMS Protector deployed to the South Atlantic in 2015. She travels to various locations in and around the Antarctic Peninsula on missions including:
As well providing practical support, Protector is a symbol of the Royal Navy’s global reach and operational flexibility. She shows that we’re ready and able to act whenever and wherever needed.
Launched on August 20, Protector was commissioned on December 30. She originally displaced 2,900 tones as a fast net layer or target-towing ship.
Protector served in the South Atlantic, home waters and the Norwegian campaign. Then was sent to the Mediterranean in 1940, where she was struck by a torpedo.
Protector carried out her first South Atlantic and Antarctic patrol in the autumn of 1955, though was only officially reclassified as an ice patrol ship in 1959.
The first HMS Protector retired to be recycled.
The ship set to become HMS Protector was built in Norway, and initially launched as the MV POLARBJORN.
MV POLARBJORN became HMS Protector – after a comprehensive refit she was commissioned into service as HMS Protector in September 2013.
HMS Protector rescued a Norwegian cruise liner, MV Fram. The craft is freed from ice and guided to safety.
HMS Protector set out to provide a presence in the Ross Sea to uphold the Antarctic Treaty, and undertake survey and patrol activity.
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