S. A. Agulhas II
S. A. Agulhas II at Cape Town Harbour
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| History | |
|---|---|
| South Africa | |
| Name: | S. A. Agulhas II |
| Owner: | Department of Environmental Affairs |
| Port of registry: |
Cape Town,  South Africa
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| Ordered: | 17 November 2009 |
| Builder: | STX Finland Rauma shipyard |
| Cost: | R 1,300,000,000 |
| Yard number: | 1369 |
| Laid down: | 31 January 2011 |
| Launched: | 21 July 2011 |
| Completed: | 3 April 2012 |
| In service: | 2012– |
| Identification: |
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| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Polar supply and research vessel |
| Tonnage: | |
| Displacement: | 13,687 tons |
| Length: | 134.2 m (440 ft) |
| Beam: | 21.7 m (71 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.65 m (25.1 ft) |
| Depth: | 10.55 m (34.6 ft) |
| Ice class: | Polar Class 5 |
| Installed power: | 4 × Wärtsilä 6L32 (4 × 3,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: | 15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Capacity: |
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| Crew: | 45 |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Atlas Oryx |
| Aviation facilities: | Helideck and hangar |
S. A. Agulhas II is a South African icebreaking polar supply and research ship owned by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). She was built in 2012 by STX Finland Rauma shipyard in Rauma, Finland, to replace the ageing S. A. Agulhas, which will be retired in the near future. Unlike her predecessor, S. A. Agulhas II was designed from the beginning to carry out both scientific research and supply South African research stations in the Antarctic.
In November 2009 the South African Department of Water and Environmental Affairs signed a contract, worth R 1.3 billion (approximately US$170 million or 116 million euros) with STX Finland for the construction of a new polar research and supply vessel that would replace the ageing S. A. Agulhas, which was scheduled to be retired by 2012. The shipyard, located in Rauma, Finland, beat competing bids from Astellero Barreras from Spain, Damen Shipyards from the Netherlands and Keppelsingmarine from Singapore. The production began with the steel-cutting ceremony in September 2010.
The keel of the new ship, referred to by her yard number as NB 1369, was laid down on 31 January 2011. She was launched on 21 July 2011 and named S. A. Agulhas II.S. A. Agulhas II conducted her open water sea trials in February 2012 and, in order to verify the results of model tests, ice trials in the Bay of Bothnia between 19 and 24 March. During the latter voyage the ship encountered level ice up to 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) thick and performed beyond expectations. In addition the hull and machinery of the vessel were instrumented to measure full-scale ice loads, and in the future S. A. Agulhas II will be used as a research platform by companies and universities from Finland and South Africa to gain more knowledge about the interaction between ice and the ship.
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