After wrapping up in Punta Arenas, we climbed aboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer – an ice breaking research vessel – which would be our home for the next 5 days as we made our way down to Antarctica.
On a typical voyage down to Palmer Station, the Nathaniel B. Palmer (NBP) is a fully supported research vessel. During the cruise down south the scientists onboard would be hard at work – collecting samples, running experiments and analyzing their findings. But – and it’s a big BUT – I quickly learned that this would be the last voyage for the NBP in conjuncture with the National Science Foundation. This unfortunate decision to cut ties, came from substantial budget cuts to the program.
To give you the full rundown, the ship is owned by Offshore Service Vessels. Construction of the vessel was completed in 1992 and has since been charted by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF). Which officially made the ship’s working relationship older than me.
The impressive NBP, is a 308 foot long, ice classed ABS-A2, which is capable of breaking three feet of level ice at a roaring three knots. She rocks an orange and yellow exterior holding multiple matching lifeboats for emergency purposes, cargo and crew. She is fully stocked with a galley, a dining area, a conference room/library, a lounge, a sauce and a gym.
At full capacity, Nathaniel B. Palmer was able to support up to two helicopters, accommodates up to 45 science and technical personnel and has an operational crew of 22. On average the ship sailed 240 days every year with it being possible to host missions lasting up to 65 days. So in a normal situation, the NBP would drop some of us off at station and continue on it’s way for a multi week cruise. The vessel would come to station one or two more times throughout the 6-7 months before dropping off the winter crew and taking us back home all while doing continuous research.
Since this was the last voyage for our ship, no experiments were going to be ran and the mind set was shifted to getting the ship back to the original manufactured state. This process included removing items that belonged to the NSF including things like lab equipment, art work, media, etc.
Luckily for us folks currently at Palmer, we will not be stranded here. There are some work arounds and we will be contracting with other countries for the foreseeable future for voyages home.
The final departure of Nathaniel B. Palmer, was truly a heartbreak but I feel honored to have sailed for the last voyage.
