Australia’s Antarctic icebreaker, RSV โNuyina, made contact with the ocean floor nearโ remote Heard Island during a resupply mission,โข theโ Australian antarctic Division (AAD) confirmed today, February 29, 2024. The incident occurred while the Nuyina was attempting to establish an underwater communications cable,โฃ resulting in damage to the vessel’s sonar dome.No personnel where injured.
The Nuyina,โ aโ $528-million icebreaker commissioned in late 2021, is crucial for Australia’s Antarctic research program and logistical support of its territories, โคincluding Heard Island – a largely uninhabited โisland home โto Big Ben, a โฃ2,745-meter-high active volcano.thisโ grounding underscores ongoing operational challenges facing the vesselโ and perhaps impacts planned scientific expeditions. The AAD states the Nuyina remains operational, but the extent of the damage and repair timelines are still being assessed, potentially delaying the second planned voyageโข to Heard Islandโ this year, part of a $17.6 million federal government investment in marine andโข environmental scienceโ missions over the past two years.
The incident happened while โขtheโข Nuyina was deploying a seabed cable to improve communicationsโฃ with equipment on Heard Island. An AAD spokesperson stated the vessel briefly touched the seabed in an โarea that was previously surveyed,โ but contained unexpected variations in depth. Damage is โขlimited to the sonar dome, which houses sensitive โฃacoustic equipment used for mapping the seafloor andโฃ detecting marine life.
The Nuyina has faced โseveral logistical and operational hurdlesโฃ since itsโ commissioning, including a โcostly refuelling issue stemming from being unableโ to pass under Hobart’s Tasman โBridge, as well as mechanical problems andโข faulty cranes that disrupted resupply โขmissions. The latest incident raises โขfurther questions about the vessel’s operational readiness and the complexities ofโฃ operating in the remote and challenging โenvironment surrounding Heard Island.