The next Royal Navy Ice patrol vessel is expected this week in Portsmouth where she will be taking over the navy’s Antarctic mission in November following the accident suffered by HMS Endurance in 2008.
The Royal Navy will have a new ‘Protector’ of British interests in Antarctica. HMS Protector, upholding the famous name of the 1950s and 60s Antarctic survey vessel, is being loaned on a three-year trial with the Fleet while the long-term future of the Antarctic Patrol vessel HMS Endurance is considered.
The Royal Navy has revealed it is replacing flood-damaged HMS Endurance with an icebreaker to be named HMS Protector.