TEESPORT, UK: November 26, 2018. The 12,800 dwt multipurpose vessel DS Wisconsin, operated by German shipping company BD-Shipsnavo, has left the UK for Antarctica with 4,500 tonnes of equipment to build a new wharf at the Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island.

The wharf, being built over the next two Antarctic seasons by BAM Construction, will provide safe berthing and efficient unloading for Britain’s new polar research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough. Rothera is located 900 miles south of the tip of South America on Adelaide Island, which is along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Last week BAM, part of the Dutch Royal BAM Group, oversaw the loading of plant equipment, 83 containers, permanent and temporary materials and 1,000 tonnes of steelwork at Teesport in North Yorkshire.

“Having spent months designing and procuring every single piece of equipment we need to build this wharf, it has finally all come together,” said BAM engineer and project manager Martha McGowan. “We spent 10 days working with Transglobal, DS Multibulk and AV Dawson, and all of the cargo specialists said this was a one-off for them in terms of the complexity of the cargo for stowage, how much was being shipped at once and the detailed bio-security checks.

“Now we are looking forward to being able to unload in Rothera and begin work deconstructing the old wharf, then building the new one.”

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Progamme manager David Seaton added: “This is a milestone in BAS’s Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme, and a major step forwards in our work to ensure the continued delivery of cutting-edge UK polar science into the future.”