Vigilance can authoritatively report that HMS Protector – the Royal Navy’s new ice patrol ship – has been formally commissioned into the fleet on the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty.
Vigilance learnt HMS Protector will help enforce the treaty which was put in place to ensure that the Antarctic environment is fully protected from exploitation and that scientific research has priority.
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff, who was the principal guest at the ceremony, said: “The commissioning of HMS Protector reaffirms our commitment to maintaining the Ice Patrol capability which demonstrates the UK’s commitment to helping preserve the Antarctic as a natural reserve. She will carry out important work supporting the hydrographic and oceanographic work conducted in the region, which complements the international effort to continue to assess the impact of climate change.”
An MoD source said the 5,000-tonne vessel has been leased from Norwegian company GC Rieber Shipping for three years while the future of HMS Endurance is being considered.
It is said Protector will undergo further sea trials over the next few months and will deploy on the Navy’s Antarctic task in November for seven months.
HMS Protector’s Commanding Officer, Captain Peter Sparkes, enthused: "This is a landmark and very proud day for the ship's company of HMS Protector and the Royal Navy. We have much to achieve in the coming months, but we will be ready in every respect to resume the UK's sovereign presence in the British Antarctic and SouthAtlanticTerritory during the 2011/12 austral summer."
During the ceremony, Captain Sparkes read a Commissioning Warrant and the ceremony was rounded off in traditional Royal Navy fashion with the cutting of a commissioning cake. Performing the honour was the Commanding Officer’s wife, Karen and AB (Seamen Specialist) Nathan Turnbull, aged 21, who is the youngest member of the ship’s company.
Other guests were Beverley Mathews, the ship’s sponsor who named the ship in a small ceremony on June 1, and Vice Admiral Andrew Mathews, the Navy’s Chief of Materiel (Fleet). The ceremony was conducted by the Venerable Scott Brown, Chaplain of the Fleet.
Mrs Mathews inspected some of the crew on parade and also the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, Portsmouth, which provided musical accompaniment for the hour-long ceremony.
The ceremony also included the naming of the ship’s survey motor boat James Caird IV by Mrs Sparkes and the Honourable Alexandra Shackleton – granddaughter of the renowned Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.