New Scott Base research station set to sail for Antarctica in 2027

The date has been set and the ship booked for the new Scott Base research station’s completion and 3720-kilometre journey to Antarctica.

Antarctica New Zealand on Friday announced the new station will be ready and shipped to Antarctica in January 2027, exactly 70 years after the original base opened in 1957.

Project director for the Scott Base redevelopment and former Royal Air Force Air Commodore, Jon Ager, says the new base will “safeguard New Zealand’s world-leading scientific research programme and presence in Antarctica” for another 50 plus years.

“We’re delighted to be working with Leighs Construction to harness the knowledge and expertise of BigLift Shipping and Mammoet,” Ager said.

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“These companies have a wealth of experience on complex projects in challenging environments.”

The redevelopment of Scott Base will replace the existing base with three interconnected buildings and upgrade the Ross Island Wind Energy system.

Ager said BigLift will sail the prefabricated base from Timaru to Pram Point, Ross Island on the back of a 20,675 metric tonne, 173-metre-long MC-Class vessel in four years’ time.

“Construction will begin at PrimePort Timaru mid-2023, allowing three and a half years to build, test and commission the new base before its journey south.

“The landmark voyage will echo New Zealand’s Antarctic history: the original Scott Base consisted of prefabricated buildings delivered on the HMNZS Endeavour when the research station was established.”

The MC-Class vessel is an ice-strengthened heavy module carrier, specifically designed to operate in remote and inaccessible areas, like Antarctica.

BigLift Shipping commercial and business development manager Mark van den Berg says the company is pleased to be contracted for the ocean transportation of the modules for the new Scott Base.

“We look forward to working with all partners of the Scott Base redevelopment to make this interesting and challenging project a success,” van den Berg said.

The vessel will bypass the usual offload point at McMurdo Station and sail directly to Pram Point, where Scott Base is situated – it’s the first time that a ship of this size will moor at Aotearoa’s only Antarctic station.

Mammoet is the company providing self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) that will move the new base onto the ship in Timaru and off again in Antarctica.

The three interconnected buildings will be separated into eight modules (each about 800 metric tonnes), sealed, and welded onto the vessel for the journey.

The first chartered vessel for the redevelopment, BigLift’s Happy Delta, arrived in McMurdo Sound last month to deliver around 870,000 kg of cargo for the redevelopment.

“Delivery of heavy plant and machinery is a major milestone for the project,” Leighs Construction project director Iain Miller said.

“After years of design and planning, it is great to be moving into the most exciting phase of the project for Leighs Construction – the physical works.”

Infrastructure, machinery and equipment were offloaded at McMurdo Station with the support of the United States Antarctic Program​ and the New Zealand Defence Force.

A comprehensive environmental monitoring programme is under way to ensure any impacts to the environment are minimised through the redevelopment.

What the redevelopment entails:

• The redevelopment of Scott Base will replace the existing base with three interconnected buildings and upgrade the Ross Island Wind Energy system.
• The redevelopment will provide a safe, fit-for-purpose, environmentally sustainable scientific research base that will support New Zealand’s presence in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica for the next 50 years.
• The new facility will be fitted with wet and dry laboratories, science workspaces, biosecurity facilities, event staging, and storage areas. There is also an external deck for testing equipment or preparing samples for shipments and a roof deck for science.
• In Budget 2021, Antarctica New Zealand was awarded $344 million of funding to redevelop Scott Base and upgrade the Ross Island Wind Farm.
• The new base can accommodate up to 100 people and will consist of an accommodation, dining and welfare building, a science and management building, and an engineering and storage building.
• It will be built in the same location as the existing base on Ross Island.