Australia Orders A Research Vessel
Damen Schelde, part of Damen Shipyards Group, has officially won a contract to design and build Australia’s new, AUD 529 million (USD 403 million) icebreaker.
According to MANA, Australian company DMS Maritime Pty is to project manage the overall ship design and building process, and after that operate and maintain the icebreaker from its home port of Hobart.
The Australian government expects that the cost of the entire project will reach AUD 1.9 billion, including the vessel’s 30-year operations and maintenance costs. The project is said to be the single biggest investment in the history of the Australian Antarctic program.
The contract signing follows the recently unveiled Australian Antarctic Strategy and 20-year Action Plan by the Ministry of the Environment.
According to the Australian government, the new ship will help further expand Tasmania’s role as the gateway to Antarctica.
The vessel will be 156 metres in length, with a beam of 25.6 metres. She will be able to break ice up to 1.65 metres thick at speeds of 3 knots.
Designed with a 500m2 on board laboratory and office facilities, the vessel will also serve to conduct research activities. The ASRV will host up to 32 DMS Maritime crew and as many as 116 AAD scientific personnel.
The ship is scheduled for delivery in mid-2020.