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04.01.21 13:19
MPV Everest began work on the Australian Antarctic Program to supply and replace Australian station polar explorers



The Australian Government's Australian Antarctic Department (AAD) says the multipurpose offshore vessel "MPV Everest" arrived in Hobart port on Tasmania Island on 31 December 2020 with an Arctic ice class of Arc 5.
 
MPV Everest has begun work on the Australian Antarctic Supply and Rotation Programme for Australian stations.
 
MPV Everest multi-purpose offshore vessel with Arctic ice class Arc5 received Polar ship certificate and RS class: KM Arc5 AUT1 OMBO DYNPOS-3 HELIDECK ECO-S WINTERIZATION(-30) ANTI-ICE special purpose ship.
 
To obtain a Polar Vessel Certificate, the Marine Engineering Bureau has developed documents:
 
• analysis of the vessel's compliance with the requirements of the Polar Code, including a List of Required Actions;
• polar Waters Operational Manual.
 
The "MPV Everest" satisfies the requirements of the Polar Code, as analysed by the Bureau of Marine Engineering.
 
The vessel is designed to operate in ice conditions as a Category B vessel. Permission is granted for operation in polar waters in conditions of thin annual ice up to 70 cm thick, which may contain inclusions of old ice. Maximum expected arrival time of rescue forces is 5 days, polar operating temperature is -30°C. The range of working draft in ice is 5.5-8.7 m.
 
The "MPV Everest", in her class design, power and other parameters, is suitable for daily navigation in difficult ice conditions without the help of icebreakers.
 
AAD has chartered the vessel for two voyages in 2021 to the Casey, Davis and Mawson research stations in Antarctica.
 
After loading cargo and equipment for the stations and boarding another shift of polar explorers, the vessel will depart on 9 January 2021 for the first of its planned voyages.
 
AAD notes that the 140-metre MPV Everest was built in 2017 and can operate in Antarctic ice conditions, carry fuel and 96 twenty-foot containers on deck and has a helipad.
 
In comparison, the newly built icebreaker RSV Nuyina for Australia (currently undergoing sea trials in the North Sea and due to arrive in Hobart in 2021) is 160.3 metres long.
 
For the summer season 2020-2021, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to Antarctica, the polar shift is reduced to half of the usual 500 people.
 
The AAD has adopted strict quarantine measures to prevent cases of COVID-19 on the MPV Everest.
 
MPV Everest crew members were tested for PCR on COVID-19 three times during a fourteen-day isolation period before being boarded.
 
The polar explorers heading south on their maiden voyage are currently isolated in Hobart and will be tested on COVID-19 before boarding the vessel.