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Laura Bassi (icebreaker)

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The Ernest Shackleton (1999–2019), now N/R Laura Bassi (2019-)
History
Norway
NamePolar Queen
OwnerGC Rieber Shipping
Port of registryBergen[1]
BuilderKværner Kleven Leirvik A/S, Leirvik, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Cost$27,352,000[1]
Yard number267
Laid down26 November 1994
LaunchedJuly 1995
Completed27 September 1995
In service1995–1999
FateTransferred to British Antarctic Survey
United Kingdom
NameErnest Shackleton
NamesakeSir Ernest Shackleton
OwnerGC Rieber Shipping
OperatorBritish Antarctic Survey
Port of registryStanley, Falkland Islands
In service1999–2019
FateSold to Italy
Italy
NameLaura Bassi
NamesakeLaura Bassi
OwnerIstituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS)
Acquired2019
IdentificationIMO number: 9114256
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and type
Displacement5455 tonnes loaded
Length80 m (262 ft)
Beam17.0 m (56 ft)
Draught6.15 m (20 ft)
Ice classDNV ICE-05 Icebreaker
Installed power2 x Bergen Diesel BRM 6 each 2550 kW
PropulsionThrusters : 816 Hp x 3 + 1088 Hp x 1 + 1 Azimuth 1088 Hp[2]
Speed
  • 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) (maximum)
Range40,000 nautical miles (74,000 km; 46,000 mi)
Endurance130 days
Complement72 (22 Officers/Crew, 50 expedition personnel)
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter deck, max helicopter weight 10 tonnes

Laura Bassi (formerly Polar Queen and RRS Ernest Shackleton) is an icebreaking research vessel operated by the Italian National Institute for Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, (in Italian: Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale - OGS). Between 1999 and 2019, she was the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) logistics ship, primarily used for the resupply of scientific stations in the Antarctic. Laura Bassi is ice strengthened with a double hull construction, certified Category A PC5 according to the Polar Code. She is capable of a wide range of logistic tasks, as well as having a scientific capability.

The N/R Laura Bassi moored in the port of Trieste

History

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Launched in July 1995 as MV Polar Queen for GC Rieber Shipping, she was operated in the Antarctic by other national programmes.[specify] The BAS acquired her on a long-term bareboat charter in August 1999 to replace RRS Bransfield. She was renamed RRS Ernest Shackleton in 2000, after the Anglo-Irish polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton,[3] but was known to users as "The Shack".

RRS Ernest Shackleton

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Between 1999 and 2019, RRS Ernest Shackleton was the main logistic ship for the BAS. She was used to resupply the survey's Antarctic research stations and also had a research capability. "Tula", a cargo tender stored on deck, allowed transfer ashore of stores and equipment when the ship could not berth alongside.[3]

During the northern summer, she was commercially chartered, often working in the North Sea.[3] On charter to Crystal Cruise Line, she escorted its 68,000 ton liner Crystal Serenity through Canada's Northwest Passage in late August/September 2016 and 2017.

After 20 years of polar duties for BAS, Ernest Shackleton was returned to her owners on 30 April 2019.[3]

RV Laura Bassi

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OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale) acquired the ship on 9 May 2019. They renamed her RV Laura Bassi, in honour of the first woman to earn a professorship in physics at a university and the first woman in the world to be appointed a university chair in a scientific field of studies.[4]

In the austral summer 2019/2020, she carried out the first Antarctic mission under the Italian flag, completing two rotations between New Zealand and Zucchelli Station, the Italian Antarctic base.

In November 2020, she was certified Category A PC5 according to the Polar Code rules.

In September 2021, the vessel carried out its first Italian scientific campaign in the Arctic[5][6] and in November 2021, it left for New Zealand as part of the 37th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica.[6][7]

In November 2022, during its voyage to New Zealand for the 38th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica, while still in the Mediterranean Sea, the vessel rescued 92 people drifting at sea for six days.[8]

In February 2023, she set a record by sailing further south than any ship before, achieving 78°44•280´S in the Bay of Whales, which was made possible by an unusual lack of ice.[9] For this achievement, the vessel and its team were awarded the 29th Premio Barcola.[10]

In June 2023, the vessel spent 18 days in the Mediterranean Sea on a research campaign contributing to three different geologic and oceanographic scientific initiatives.[11]

During the 39th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica, which ended in March 2024, researchers aboard the vessel discovered a previously unknown chain of underwater volcanoes in the seas of Northern Victoria Land in Antarctica.[12]

In December 2024, the vessel suffered a port engine failure which required repairs in the harbour of Lyttelton, New Zealand.[13]

Between December 2024 and March 2025, the vessel spent two months travelling in Antarctic waters to study physical and biogeochemical dynamics around the continent. This was the 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica as part of the Italian National Programme for Research in Antarctica.[14]

In march 2025, the vessel transported the oldest ice samples ever extracted from Antarctica, result of the Beyond EPICA project, to Europe.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ernest Shackleton (9114256)". Sea-web. S&P Global. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  2. ^ Mike Gloistein. "RRS Ernest Shackleton". Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "RRS Ernest Shackleton". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  4. ^ Findlen, Paula. "Science as a Career in Enlightenment Italy : The Strategies of Laura Bassi." Isis, vol. 84, no. 3, 1993: 441–469.
  5. ^ "First campaign in the Arctic for the research vessel Laura Bassi | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  6. ^ a b "The icebreaker Laura Bassi sets course for New Zealand | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  7. ^ "The Laura Bassi on its way to the Mario Zucchelli Station | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  8. ^ "The ship Laura Bassi rescues 92 drifting migrants | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Italian Vessel In Antarctica Reaches New Destinations As Polar Ice Melts". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  10. ^ "The R/V Laura Bassi was honoured with the Premio Barcola 2023 | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  11. ^ "The campaign in the Mediterranean of the R/V Laura Bassi is completed | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Antarctica: a chain of underwater volcanoes was discovered | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  13. ^ "The R/V Laura Bassi returns to Lyttelton | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Antarctica: The R/V Laura Bassi concludes the summer research campaign | OGS | Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale". www.ogs.it. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Antarctica's oldest ice heading to Europe". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
[edit]
  • Image of RRS Ernest Shackleton on the British Antarctic Survey website.
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