Full steam ahead to Hobart

Massive $2bn icebreaker Nuyina will be ‘backbone’ of Antarctic program

AUSTRALIA’S newest icebreaker has set sail for Hobart on a 24,000km journey from the Netherlands.

The RSV Nuyina replaces the Aurora Australis, after the older vessel was retired in mid 2020.

The $2bn icebreaker left Vlissingen in the Netherlands on Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Hobart in late October.

Australian Antarctic Division director Kim Ellis said it was a “monumental occasion”

for the Antarctic program. “Seeing the Nuyina in its home port will reinforce and reflect the incredible importance of

Hobart as an Antarctic Gateway, not just for Australia but for other nations that use this port,” Mr Ellis said.

He said the voyage was another chance to test the ship’s capabilities. “The delivery voyage is actually very important to us because it allows us to get that final confirmation the ship is in good operating condition,” Mr Ellis said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to see this ship in action in all weather on a really extended voyage.”

The Nuyina is 160m long, compared with the Aurora Australis, which was 94.5m long.

It is equipped with a sauna, library, a theatre, lounges and a gym three times larger than the one on its predecessor. The new vessel can carry 32 crew and 117 expeditioners on board for trips lasting up to three months.

“The people of Hobart will be blown away when they see the size of the ship,” ship captain Gerry O’Doherty said

“It’s just very imposing; very impressive.”

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the vessel would be the backbone of Australia’s Antarctic program.

“This is a ship capable of breaking through Antarctic sea ice, withstanding 14m seas and temperatures of minus 30 degrees to service our Antarctic stations, while also working as a state-of-the-art floating science platform in her own right,” Ms Ley said.

“It will establish a scientific legacy that will last for generations and today is a huge milestone for climate research, and our study of Antarctic and marine ecosystems.”

After it arrives in Hobart, the Nuyina will undergo further testing and ice trials in Antarctica.