Polar front (ship)

Polar front

Ship data flag  Norway Callsign LDWR home port Mountains Shipping company Misje Rederi, Bergen Shipyard Mandal Slip & mV Fitjar Mekaniske Verksted AS Build number 57 3 Keel laying August 1975 Launch March 1976 Whereabouts sold to France

As of 2017 flag  France Callsign FJYK home port Marseille Owner Latitude Blanche, Marseille Shipping company Latitude Blanche, Marseille

Ship dimensions and crew length 54.25 m ( Lüa ) 47.67 m ( Lpp ) width 10.01 m Side height 7.87 m Draft Max. 4.37 m measurement 927 GT / 278 NRZ

Machine system machine 1 × Wichmann diesel engine (type: 5AX) Machine performance 1,100 kW (1,496 hp) Top speed 12 kn (22 km / h) propeller 1 × controllable pitch propeller with Kort nozzle

Others Classifications DNV GL IMO no. 7608708

The polar front is a former weather observation ship . The ship was operated by the Bergen- based Misje Rederi. In 2017 the ship was sold to France.

history

The ship was built on the Fitjar Mekaniske Verksted under hull number 3. The hull was delivered by Mandal Slip & mV under hull number 57. The keel of the ship was laid in August 1975 and it was launched in March 1976. The ship was completed on December 14, 1976. The ship was christened on this day . Inga Misje was the godmother.

Positions of the weather observation ships in the North Atlantic

The ship was operated under the flag of Norway with her home port in Bergen. It was stationed around 450 km off the Norwegian coast at station “M” ( ⊙ ) and was one of 13 weather observation vessels that were operated in the North Atlantic . The network was established in 1948 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The ship took over the station "M" on January 1, 1977 and replaced the weather observation ships used there until then, two converted corvettes of the Flower class , which Norway had taken over from Great Britain after the Second World War. It was usually on the station for 28 days before calling at a port for changing crews, taking in bunkers and drinking water, provisions, various items of equipment and everyday necessities - initially Bergen was used for this, from 1981 to 2003 Kristiansund and then Ålesund . In the first week of September the ship was regularly docked for maintenance work in a shipyard in Måløy . Initially there were 16 crew members and four meteorologists on board . The number of crews was reduced over time with the advent of modern communication and computer technology. Finally, the crew on board consisted of seven people who also took over the meteorological measurements. In addition to weather monitoring, oceanographic measurements were also carried out on board .

On January 1, 2010, the ship, which at that time was the last remaining weather observation ship in a fixed position, was decommissioned and laid up . Reasons for the decommissioning were primarily the high costs that the operation of the ship caused and the z. B. by satellites , radar and automatic measuring buoys available, alternative measuring and observation options. The ship came under the flag of the Faroe Islands with home port Tórshavn . In the fall of 2011, an automatic measuring buoy was laid out on the position where the weather observation ship was lying.

In 2017 the ship was sold to the company Latitude Blanche in France. It is to be converted into an expedition cruise ship.

Technical specifications

The ship is powered by a diesel engine from the manufacturer Wichmann Motorfabrikk (type: 5AX) with an output of 1100 kW , which acts on a controllable  pitch propeller with a Kort nozzle . Three AGA generators , each with an apparent power of 90  kVA, are available for the power supply, each driven by a Volvo Penta diesel engine (type: TMD 100 AK).

literature

• Gate Gammelsrød, Ingunn Skjelvan, Svein Østerhus, Ann Kristin Østrem: Værskipet Polar front: Klimaforskningens flaggskip. In: Klima 2–2008 , Cicero - Senter for klimaforskning, pp. 44–47, ISSN  1504-8136 (PDF file, 248 kB).
• Gate Gammelsrød, Svein Østerhus: Klimaovervåking på værskipet "Polar Front" (stasjon "M"). Geofysisk institutt, Universitetet i Bergen (PDF file, 167 kB).

Web links

Commons : Polarfront  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• M / S Polarfront , Misje Rederi ( Norwegian )
• Data sheet , Misje Rederi (PDF file, 255 kB)
• Pictures of the ship , Ocean Weather Ships

Individual evidence

1. ^ M / S Polarfront ( Memento of March 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), Misje Rederi.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} history , Misje Rederi. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
3. ↑ ^{a b} M / S Polar Front , Sjøhistorie. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
4. ↑ The daglige drift , Misje Rederi. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
5. ↑ Fartøyet oppgaver , Misje Rederi. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
6. ↑ Kjell Werner: Finally for the last weather ship , Avisenes Nyhetsbyrå (ANB), February 16, 2009. Accessed March 7, 2017.
7. ↑ Farvel polar front ( memento of March 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), Meteorologisk institutt , November 28, 2009.
8. ↑ Astrid Rommetveit: Siste reis for værskipet , Yr, February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
9. ↑ Klimabøye reimburser værskip , Havforskningsinstituttet, October 10, 2011. Accessed March 7, 2017.
10. ^ Latitude blanche, nouvelle compagnie française , École Nationale Supérieure Maritime, July 13, 2017. Accessed September 13, 2017.
11. ↑ New Expedition Line Latitude Blanche Set to Start in 2018. Cruise Industry News, September 12, 2017, accessed September 13, 2017 .