Ukrainian research ship Noosfera will undergo maintenance prior to departing for the Antarctic

Former British research ship Noosfera will undergo maintenance prior to departing for the Antarctic, reported the press service of the National Antarctic Science Center on its Facebook page.

PJSC ISRZ was selected for docking, because Noosfera has a significant displacement of 5732 tons, requiring a massive floating dock.

The maintenance activities will be supervised by experienced senior mechanic Andris Kubulins, who worked on James Clark Ross for over than six years, and when it was renamed to Noosfera, kindly agreed to leave from the British Antarctic Service to work as a part of the Ukrainian icebreaker crew.

Today, December 4, 2021, the flagship of the Ukrainian scientific fleet – Noosfera ice class research vessel left the seaport of Odesa and went to the Chornomorsk shipyard.

As any vessel before a long road (and the trip from Ukraine to the Antarctic takes 5-6 weeks at least), especially before the trip to the icy seas, our ship must undergo serious maintenance, – wrote the press service.

It is necessary to check up operation of all mechanisms, from engines to cranes and winches and to replace the used oils, etc.

A separate task is to clean the hull from the growth of marine vegetation and maintenance of maneuvering propulsion devices – special propellers that ensure the maneuverability of the vessel in difficult ice conditions. Most of this work cannot be done on the passenger berth of the seaport and some even require a temporary lift from the water to the dock.

The Noosfera is expected to leave for Antarctic in mid-January.

The Noosfera is a former British James Clark Ross research ship, the ship received its new name on October 29 in Odesa.

On August 19, 2021, the Ukrainian National Antarctic Research Center and the British Research and Innovation Institution signed an agreement on purchase of the ship. On August 30, 2021, the Ukrainian flag was hoisted over the new flagship of the Ukrainian research fleet.

On September 18, 2021, the research vessel left Frederickshaven (Denmark) for Ukraine. Before going to sea, a lot of work was done on re-registration and insurance of the ship, new radio calls were received, etc. On October 3, the James Clark Ross passed through the Bosphorus into the Black Sea and headed for Odesa.