HMS Endurance (A171)
HMS Endurance off the Antarctic Peninsula, in 2007.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: |
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| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| Builder: | Ulstein Hatlo |
| Completed: | 1990 |
| Commissioned: | 21 November 1991 |
| Out of service: | 2008 |
| Homeport: | Portsmouth |
| Identification: | Pennant number: A171 |
| Motto: |
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| Nickname(s): | The Red Plum (from the colour of her hull). |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Icebreaker |
| Displacement: | 6,100 t (6,004 long tons) |
| Length: | 91 m (298 ft 7 in) |
| Beam: | 17.9 m (58 ft 9 in) |
| Draught: | 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in) |
| Ice class: | 1A1 |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Bergen BRG 8 Diesels, 8,160 hp (6,085 kW) |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Range: | 24,600 nmi (45,600 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
James Caird, Nimrod, Eddie Shackleton and Dudley Docker |
| Troops: | Royal Marines |
| Complement: | 126 |
| Crew: | Royal Navy, Civilian researchers |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Type R84 and M34 surface search radar, Type 1006 navigation radar |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
Classified |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Ice-modified Lynx HAS 3 helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Full aircraft facilities and double hangar |
HMS Endurance was an icebreaker that served as the Royal Navy ice patrol ship between 1991 and 2008. Built in Norway as MV Polar Circle, she was chartered by the Royal Navy in 1991 as HMS Polar Circle, before being purchased outright and renamed HMS Endurance in 1992.
Endurance was laid up in Portsmouth from 2008 to 2016, following serious damage caused by flooding following an error during routine maintenance on a sea suction strainer. In October 2013 it was reported that she would be scrapped; in July 2015 the vessel was offered for sale for further use or recycling and left Portsmouth under tow to the Leyal ship recycling Ltd. (LEYAL Gemi Söküm) facility in Turkey on 1 June 2016.
MV Polar Circle was built in Norway in 1990 by Ulstein Hatlo for Rieber Shipping. The Royal Navy chartered her for eight months as HMS Polar Circle from 21 November 1991. She was bought outright and renamed HMS Endurance on 9 October 1992.
Endurance provided a sovereign presence in polar waters, performing hydrographic surveys and supporting the British Antarctic Survey in Antarctica. Her usual deployment saw her in the Southern Ocean and returning to the UK through tropical waters each year. Later, a longer, 18-month deployment was designed to maximise her time available for BAS usage.
In 1997 she made the first visit to Buenos Aires after the Falklands War, and she returned there in 2002.
In 2005, Endurance was chosen to carry HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the International Fleet Review as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.
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Wikipedia