Australia’s icebreaker Nuyina out of service for Antarctic summer season

An unexpected issue with shaft couplings has been discovered on RSV Nuyina, Australia’s new $528 million icebreaker, necessitating the charter of temporary replacement vessels.

Australia's new Antarctic icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, in fast ice earlier in 2022. Picture: Pete Harmsen, AAD

Australia‘s new $528m icebreaker is under repair and will be out of service for next Antarctic season, requiring the charter of temporary replacement vessels.

The Australian Antarctic Division said on Friday that it had “moved swiftly” to deal with the situation, which it said was already budgeted for as part of contingency planning.

RSV Nuyina, unveiled with much fanfare in October 2021, successfully undertook its first two Antarctic voyages early in 2022.

However, AAD director Kim Ellis said repairs as part of the “normal commissioning process” had identified problems.

The Romanian-built ship arrived in Singapore in April for scheduled maintenance and work had been under way on the ship’s propulsion system clutches.

“While work has been progressing well on the clutches, an unexpected issue was discovered in the large couplings that connect the propulsion shafts with the clutches,” Mr Ellis said.

“Following initial investigations and testing, the manufacturer has determined that shaft couplings need to be replaced. Delivery timeframes for replacement couplings are lengthy, driven to a large extent by material shortages and supply chain issues.”

The 160.3m-long vessel was still under warranty with shipbuilder Damen, and the charter of extra ships had been budgeted as a contingency to support Nuyina’s operations during the two-year commissioning phase, AAD said. Mr Ellis said two temporary replacement vessels – icebreaker Aiviq and an ice-strengthened cargo ship, Happy Dynamic – had been chartered for the coming season.

“Changeover dates for the 90 expeditioners currently living and working at Australia’s four research stations in Antarctica and on (sub-Antarctic) Macquarie Island will remain much the same,” he said.

The impact on science operations in the Southern Ocean, Macquarie Island and Antarctica was yet to be determined, said AAD chief scientist Nicole Webster.

“Science remains at the heart of the Australian Antarctic Program and we will work closely with research teams on options to support their summer science projects,” Professor Webster said.

Nuyina had been due to return from Singapore to its base in Hobart in October, in time for the start of the Antarctic summer season, but delays of several months in obtaining parts meant this was now unlikely, Mr Ellis said.

It is the second setback for the much-trumpeted icebreaker, after port authorities initially denied it permission to transit under Hobart’s Tasman Bridge to refuel. This required it to refuel in Burnie, 364km away, until the issue was resolved in February.
Capable of carrying 117 passengers and 32 crew, the Nuyina – named after an Aboriginal word for the southern lights – replaces the Aurora Australis, retired from service in March 2020 after 30 years.

 With an internal “moon pool” to deploy robot subs, stealth mode and drop keels to snoop on whales, Nuyina was hailed by the Morrison government in October 2021 as the “most advanced ship in the world”, and a “floating research platform” that reinforced Australia’s Antarctic credentials.

“It’s not just a very impressive piece of kit … it is sending a clear signal about our Antarctic commitment and our ongoing ambition and our determination to preserve those values that are in the Antarctic Treaty,” then-environment minister Sussan Ley said at the time.