Australia’s research icebreaker delayed by nearly 5 months

The arrival of Australia’s new icebreaker Nuyina at its future homeport of Hobart has been delayed by 19 weeks.

The new vessel is now due to tie up in Hobart in November this year and will undertake its first Antarctic voyage in January 2021.

The Australian Antarctic Division said it has contingency plans in place for a supplementary shipping capability to undertake station resupply for the 2020-21 Antarctic summer season.

Construction of the ship at Damen Shipyards in Romania commenced in May 2017, with a steel cutting ceremony, while a keel laying ceremony in August saw the first building-block of the ship consolidated in the drydock.

In September 2018 the ship was floated from the dry dock to the wet dock, for the next phase of construction.