Australia’s only home-built icebreaker will soon leave their shores. The icebreaker Aurora Australis, affectionately nicknamed Orange Roughy, is ending her more than thirty-year career serving Australia. Launched at Carrington Slipways in New South Wales in 1989, the ship helped Australia make its mark in Antarctica. Over three decades, the ship has carried more than 14,000 crew and scientists on over 150 expeditions.
Unlike most icebreakers, Aurora Australis, is privately owned. P&O Maritime Services owns the ship that has been regularly chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) for research cruises in Antarctic waters and to support Australian bases in Antarctica.
The Newcastle Herald reports that Aurora Australis is being replaced by the Romanian built RSV Nuyina. The new icebreaker is almost ready for deployment but the final testing phase has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What will become of the old ship? Despite efforts to turn the Orange Roughy into a museum ship, the owners have been granted an export so the ship could be sold overseas. Several reports suggest that the ship will be transferred to Argentina for continued use in the Antarctic.
Thanks to Dick Kooyman for contributing to this post.
I think they should hang on to it till they’re absolutely sure the new ship is up to the job. How often have you bought something to replace an item you have been using for years only to find that the new item is seriously lacking and needs to be sent back for a refund?