ERNEST SHACKLETON RRS

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

ERNEST SHACKLETON RRS

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Aug 15, 2010 9:12 pm

Built as a research vessel under yard No 267 by Kvaerner Kleven at Leirvik A/S, Norway for Rieber Shipping Svalbard A/S.
July 1995 launched as the POLAR QUEEN.
Tonnage 4,028 grt, 1,209 net, displacement 5,455 ton. Dim. 80.00 x 17.00 x 11.20m., draught 7.35m.
Powered by two Bergen diesels BEM 6 each 2,550 kW, speed, one shaft.
Bunker capacity 1,357 m³ MDO, 48.8 m³ lubrication oils and 195m³ kerosene.
Thrusters: one of 816 hp, 3 of 1088 hp.
Cargo hold capacity, main hold 2258.3 m², aft hold 991.7 m ².
Fresh water 167.7 m³, ballast capacity 632.2 m³.
.Ice strengthened, and double hull construction.
1995 Completed. Building cost approximately £30 million.

After delivery was she mostly used in the Antarctic waters chartered by German, Scandinavian and Australian national Antarctic research programmes.
1998 Chartered by the British Antarctic Survey, she made one voyage 1998/1999 under the name POLAR QUEEN to British bases in Antarctic.
After returning to the U.K. she was bare-boat chartered for a period of 15 till 20 years in August 1999 by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and its parent body, the Natural Environment research Council.
When not in Antarctic service she will be chartered back to Rieber for commercial work.
13 May 1999 was she renamed in ERNEST SHACKLETON by a granddaughter of the famous explorer Mrs. Alexandra Shackleton in the port of Hull after her return from the Antarctic.

After modification were made she was officially taken over on 30 September 1999, registered by the Falkland Islands Government, with homeport Stanley.
On that day the Norwegian Captain Lidvin Larsen lowered the Norwegian flag and the British Antarctic Territory flag was for the first time hoisted by Captain John Marshal.

She was thereafter used for a wide range of logistic tasks as well as having a scientific capability.
Carried a cargo tender the TULA on deck for ship to shore transfer. (depict on the 33p stamp)
Each year in September or October she sails from the River Humber to the Antarctic to resupply the British bases there, returning in May/June.
After a refit and drydock she is chartered by Rieber for commercial work in the northern summer.
2017 In service, IMO NO 9114256.

British Antarctic Territory 2000 43p sg?, scott?, 33p sg?, scott?

Source: Marine News and Wikipedia.

South Georgia’s seabirds have been severely depleted by invasive rats and mice which were introduced inadvertently from the ships of sealers and whalers in the 19th and 20th centuries. The island’s birds nest on the ground or in shallow burrows and they are defenceless against rodents which eat eggs and chicks. Petrel, pintail and prion populations have suffered the greatest damage from the invaders, and the endemic South Georgia pipit is threatened with extinction.
Since 2007 the Trustees of the SGHT, a small UK-based charity established in 2005, have been tackling the rodent problem on South Georgia by attempting to eradicate rats and mice from the island in a £7.5 million project, far larger than any rodent eradication attempted anywhere in the world. It has been suggested that the successful completion of the project could bring some 100 million seabirds back to the island.
The 5p stamp features the BAS vessel the RRS ERNEST SHACKLETON which was used around the northern area for Phase Two of the project. The ship brought with it three helicopters, 200 tonnes of bait, 700 drums of helicopter fuel, 8 tonnes of food and three 20 foot container-loads of equipment. The helicopters flew the supplies from the ship to depots at 14 different sites along South Georgia’s coastline before the team disembarked in late February 2013.
The 5p stamp is designed after a photo by Paul Wilkinson.

May 2019 sold to OGS, Sgonico TS, Italy and renamed in LAURA BASSI. Thereafter used as supply ship for the Italian Antarctic basis.

South Georgia 2013 5p sg?, Scott?
Niger 2019 3300Fr. sg?, Scott? Although this edition was authorized by the Niger postal administration, it was not sold in Niger, but only distributed to the novelty trade by the Nigerian philatelic agency.
South Georgia Post web-site
Attachments
tmp175.jpg
tmp176.jpg
RRS_Ernest_Shackleton_BB.jpg
tmp131.jpg
tmp132.jpg
2013 Ernest Shackleton.jpg
2019 Icebreaker-Laura-Bassi (2).jpg
2019 Icebreaker-Laura-Bassi (2).jpg (54.75 KiB) Viewed 419 times
Last edited by aukepalmhof on Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
Posts: 871
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: ERNEST SHACKLETON RRS

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:02 pm

B.A.T. 2017 76 p. StG.?
Attachments
ernest shackleton z.jpg

Post Reply