Ship has broken the ice

Second voyage but L’Astrolabe still warming to Antarctic run

FOLLOWING a successful maiden voyage, French icebreaker L’Astrolabe is back in Hobart ready for its second voyage to Antarctica.

Commander Celine Tuccelli is the ship’s first captain and said it was an exciting and challenging role.

“It’s a brand new mission for the French Navy ... no officer has experience in the ice,” she said.

The French Navy operates the new L’Astrolabe, in part- nership with the French Polar Institute. The ship’s predecessor, which plied the Southern Ocean between Tasmania and French Antarctic station Dumont d’Urville for 30 years and was a familiar sight in Hobart’s port, was operated by shipping company P&O.

Commander Tuccelli trained with the captains of the former L’Astrolabe last year.

“They taught me how to do the job in the ice because it’s very, very specific,” she said.

“The danger, you know, is that the ice is never the same; sometimes it’s very thick and it’s hard to go through, and sometimes you have to deal with storms with no visibility.

“In Antarctica everything changes very quickly so sometimes you have beautiful weather but you have to be very cautious because it can change a lot in a couple of hours or less.”

L’Astrolabe’s 12 passengers and crew of 22 are ready to leave Hobart but have been waiting in port for more favourable weather. They expect to leave tomorrow.

The ship is bound for Dumont d’Urville and will resupply the French Antarctic bases.

“It will take five days to [get] there, depending on ice condi- tions,” Commander Tuccelli said.

“We will spend maybe 10 days there and resupply 400 cubic metres of ‘special Antarctic blend’, which is diesel fuel, and also 150 tonnes of cargo.”

The cargo includes fresh and frozen food, engines, crafts and trailers. L’Astrolabe is expected to make another three voyages to Antarctica this season.

Commander Tuccelli said the new ship was 2m wider and 5m longer than its predecessor.

“It means we can load more fuel, twice the amount of fuel,” Commander Tuccelli said.

She said the big difference between the old and new L’Astrolabe was its environmental impact. The new ship has been built according to “very modern environmental standards”, Commander Tuccelli said.

“We have less gas emission from the engines and we also treat all the ballast water, so everything that goes out of the ship is very clean.”