''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 smaller ...

polar supply and research ship owned by the

Department of Environmental Affairs The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for protecting, conserving and improving the South African environment and natural resources. It was created in 20 ...

(DEA). She was built in 2012 by STX Finland

Rauma shipyard Rauma shipyard ( fi, Rauman telakka) is a shipyard in Rauma, Finland. It was previously operated by STX Finland which is owned by the South Korean STX Corporation. Rauma shipyard is specialized in large ferries, small cruise ships, multipurpose ic ...

Rauma, Finland Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 1 ...

, to replace the ageing '' S. A. Agulhas'', 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. 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 Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

's ship, ''

Endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

'', 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 The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

( R 1.3 billion) contract with STX Finland 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 The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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 The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and wit ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

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 Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

on 3 May. During a ceremony celebrating the arrival, the ship was dedicated to the memory of the singer

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

Design

General characteristics

The maximum

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is and her

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

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 is 12,897, net tonnage 3,870 and

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...

4,780 tons. She is served by a crew of 45. ''S. A. Agulhas II'' is classified by

Det Norske Veritas DNV (formerly DNV GL) is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. The company currently has about 12,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides ser ...

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 moon pool is a feature of marine drilling platforms, drillships and diving support vessels, some marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and underwater habitats, in which it is also known as a wet porch. It is an o ...

. 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 The Atlas Oryx (named after the Oryx antelope) is a medium-sized utility helicopter ostensibly developed and manufactured by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (now Denel Aeronautics) of South Africa. Its largest operator is the South African Air F ...

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...

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 Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompass ...

system.

Power and propulsion

''S. A. Agulhas II'' is powered by four

six-cylinder The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technolo ...

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 Volvo Penta was founded as Penta in 1907 with the production of its first marine engine, the B1. The Penta company soon became an established internal combustion engine manufacturer, which in 1927 delivered the engine for Volvo's first passenge ...

emergency diesel generator. The ship has a diesel-electric powertrain with two

Converteam GE Power Conversion is an electrical engineering company and is a subsidiary of GE Power, part of General Electric. GE Power Conversion's global headquarters is located in the Paris-Saclay research-intensive and business cluster, south of Paris ...

4,500 kW propulsion motors driving

KaMeWa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (''trans.'' Karlstad Mechanical Works Ltd), known as Kamewa, was a Swedish manufacturing company in the city of Kristinehamn. Kamewa started as a brand name of the controllable-pitch propellers manufactured by KM ...

controllable pitch propeller In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can al ...

s,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

and manoeuvring in ports she has two

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

bow thruster Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...

s 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