HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s only Ice Patrol Ship is currently docked in Port Kingstown. The vessel arrived in Port Kingstown on Monday after its voyage from port Jacksonville, United States.
Resident British Commissioner to St Vincent and the Grenadines, Steve Moore had the pleasure of welcoming Captain Ingham and her crew from HMS Protector to SVG this week.
Since docking in Port Kingstown, RBC Moore, Captain Ingham and crew held a useful meeting with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and key HADR stakeholders.
Captain Maryla Ingham commander of HMS Protector made history by becoming the first woman to hold the rank of Captain and command a major ship unit in the Royal Navy.
The HMS Protector will remain in the Caribbean region for the balance of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season, to assist if required.
HMS Protector, which calls the freezing waters of Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere home is affectionately referred to as the Royal Navy’s ‘swiss army knife’ – red, versatile, and always there when you need her!
HMS Protector’s crew includes a team of Hydrographers, who undertake exploratory surveys and ensure that environmental guidelines are being upheld.
This ice patroller is well-equipped with 2 cranes capable of lifting up to 60 tonnes of stores and equipment.
Protector is the Royal Navy’s sole icebreaker, dedicated to spending summer in the southern hemisphere in and around the Antarctic peninsula supporting the UK and international scientists’ understanding of the frozen continent, its unique environment and wildlife, as well as updating existing maritime charts of the waters to the latest standards.
When the weather rules out work in the Polar regions, Protector shifts her activities to warmer water; last autumn she worked extensively off St Helena and Ascension Island – two UK Overseas Territories in the mid-Atlantic.
