HMS Protector (A173)
HMS Protector in 2011
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| History | |
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 Norway
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| Name: | Polarbjørn |
| Namesake: | Polar bear |
| Owner: | GC Rieber Shipping,Bergen, Norway |
| Builder: |
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| Yard number: | 076 |
| Laid down: | 30 September 2000 |
| Launched: | 21 July 2001 |
| Completed: | 22 October 2001 |
| Homeport: | Bergen |
| Identification: |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Protector |
| Owner: |
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| Operator: | Royal Navy |
| In service: | 2011 |
| Homeport: | HMNB Devonport |
| Identification: |
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| Status: | In active service, as of 2016 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Research ship & Icebreaker |
| Displacement: | 5,000 t (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons) |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 18 m (59 ft 1 in) |
| Draft: |
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| Ice class: | DNV ICE-05 |
| Installed power: | 2 × Rolls-Royce Bergen BR-8, 2 x 3,535 kW (4,741 hp) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
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| Complement: | 88 (accommodation for up to 100) |
| Armament: | |
| Aviation facilities: | Helicopter deck |
HMS Protector is a Royal Navy ice patrol ship built in Norway in 2001. As MV Polarbjørn (Norwegian: polar bear) she operated under charter as a polar research icebreaker and a subsea support vessel. In 2011, she was chartered as a temporary replacement for the ice patrol ship, HMS Endurance and was purchased outright by the British Ministry of Defence in September 2013.
An earlier icebreaker Polarbjørn was bought by Greenpeace in 1995 and renamed MV Arctic Sunrise.
Polarbjørn was designed and built for long Antarctic expeditions and for supporting subsea work.Polarbjørn was equipped to DP2 class and had accommodation for 100. Large cargo holds and open deck areas provide storage capacity for ROVs and related equipment. A 50-ton knuckle-boom crane and the 25-ton stern A-frame allow equipment to be deployed over the side and over the stern.
Polarbjørn worked in the "spot" market, on short-term charter. During 2009, the vessel was chartered for electromagnetic survey work in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. She was exposed to a downturn in business during 2010, with only a 33% utilisation.
Prior to the Royal Navy charter, she underwent a ten-day refit in Odense, Denmark. The helicopter deck, originally above her bridge, was repositioned over the stern and a multibeam echosounder for survey work was installed. Her engines and gearboxes were overhauled and she was modified to allow the carriage of the ancillary vessels and vehicles (survey boats, all-terrain vehicles) used in support of the British Antarctic Survey.
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Wikipedia