Aurora Australis
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Aurora Australis (icebreaker)
.jpg) Aurora Australis docked at Hobart in 2010 |
|
| Career (Australia) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Aurora Australis |
| Namesake: | The Aurora Australis |
| Owner: | P&O Polar |
| Operator: | P&O Polar |
| Builder: | Carrington Slipways, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Launched: | 18 September 1989[citation needed] |
| In service: | 30 March 1990[citation needed] |
| Homeport: | Hobart |
| Identification: | IMO number: 8717283 |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Icebreaker |
| Tonnage: | 6,574 GT 3,911 DWT |
| Displacement: | 8,158 tons |
| Length: | 94.91 m (311.4 ft) |
| Beam: | 20.3 m (67 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.862 m (25.79 ft) |
| Depth: | 10.43 m (34.2 ft) |
| Ice class: | LR 1A Super Icebreaker |
| Installed power: | Wärtsilä 16V32D (5,500 kW) and 12V32D (4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion: | One controllable pitch propeller with nozzle One bow thruster Two stern thrusters |
| Speed: | 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) (max) 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) (cruising) 2.5 knots (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph) (1.23 m (4.0 ft) ice) |
| Capacity: | 1,700 m3 (60,000 cu ft) of break bulk cargo 1,000 m3 (35,000 cu ft) of supply fuel in tanks 29 TEU 116 passengers |
| Crew: | 24 |
| Aircraft carried: | Up to four helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Hangar and helideck |
Aurora Australis is an Australian icebreaker. Built by Carrington Slipways and launched in 1989, the vessel is owned by P&O Polar, but is regularly chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) for research cruises in Antarctic waters and to support Australian bases in Antarctica.
|
Contents
|
Design and construction
Designed as a multi-purpose research and resupply ship, Aurora Australis was built by Carrington Slipways in Newcastle, New South Wales.[1] The vessel was launched in September 1989.[1]
_berthed_in_Hobart_under_a_rainbow.jpg)
Aurora Australis is 94.91 metres (311.4 ft) long, and has a beam of 20.3 metres (67 ft), draught of 7.862 metres (25.79 ft) and moulded depth of 10.43 metres (34.2 ft). Her displacement is 8,158 tons, gross tonnage 6,574 and deadweight tonnage 3,911 tons.[1] Her propulsion machinery consists of two Wärtsilä medium-speed diesel engines in father-son arrangement, one 16-cylinder 16V32D producing 5,500 kW and one 12-cylinder 12V32D producing 4,500 kW. Both engines are coupled to a single shaft through a reduction gear, driving a single, left-hand-turning controllable pitch propeller in a nozzle.[2] Slow speed manoeuvring is achieved with three manoeuvering thrusters, one forward and two aft.[2] Aurora Australis has a maximum speed of 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph),[citation needed] and a cruising speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).[1] The vessel can break level ice up to 1.23 metres (4 ft 0 in) thick at 2.5 knots (4.6 km/h; 2.9 mph).[1][3]
Aurora Australis is served by a crew of 24[3] and carry up to 116 passengers accommodated in t hree- or four-bunk cabins with attached bathrooms.[1][4] The ship has a cargo capacity of 1,700 cubic metres (60,000 cu ft) for break bulk or 29 twenty-foot equivalent containers, and a supply tank that can hold 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cu ft) of fuel.[citation needed]. The ship is fitted with laboratories for biological, meteorological, and oceanographic research, and was designed with a trawl deck for the deployment and recovery of research instruments while at sea.[1] The ship's hangar and helideck allow for the operation of up to three helicopters,[1] usually Eurocopter Squirrels or Sikorsky S-76s.[citation needed]
Operations
Aurora Australis is chartered by the AAD over the southern summer for research purposes, and to support the Antarctic bases operated by the AAD.[4] The vessel spends most winters in port in Hobart, Tasmania, as the AAD headquarters is in the nearby town of Kingston.[citation needed] P&O sometimes charter the ship for other work during winter.[citation needed]
On 8 May 2011, Aurora Australis was chartered by the Department of Defence for a two-month deployment (ending 30 June) as an amphibious transport ship supporting the Royal Australian Navy.[4] The charter, costing A$3.375 million, was to assist in the Australian government response to humanitarian crises and natural disasters that occurred while the naval heavy lift ship HMAS Tobruk undergoes maintenance.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Aurora Australis". Australian Antarctic Division. 18 April 2011. http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/travel-and-logistics/ships/aurora-australis. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ a b Barlow, Karen (25 January 2011). "Revhead heaven in icebreaker's engine room". ABC News Online. http://blogs.abc.net.au/news/2011/01/revhead-heaven-in-icebreakers-engine-room.html. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ a b Deparmental investigation into the engine room fire onboard the Australian Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel Aurora Australis at the Antarctic ice edge on 22 July 1998. MIIU. Retrieved on 2012-04-02.
- ^ a b c d "Amphibious Ship Update" (Press release). The Hon. Jason Clare MP Minister for Defence Materiel. 11 May 2011. http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Claretpl.cfm?CurrentId=11792. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
External links
Media related to Aurora Australis (ship, 1990) at Wikimedia Commons- Webcam aboard Aurora Australis
- Breaking the Ice - blog from Aurora Australis by Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Karen Barlow, during the January–February 2011 scientific trip to Mertz Glacier
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Aurora Australis (icebreaker).
Read more
Mentioned in
aurora polaris
(geophysics)
The Driver's Son, audio-storyboard in 36 parts, work in progress
(Classical Work)
» More