Three leading polar programs – the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) – are launching a long-term logistics partnership. At the center of this collaboration is the Silver Mary, an ice-strengthened supply vessel that will regularly service the Halley VI, Troll, and Neumayer III stations over the coming decade. The first supply stop under the new agreement is scheduled for January 2026.
The cooperation has direct scientific relevance: by pooling logistical resources, parallel national missions become unnecessary, saving costs and significantly reducing CO² emissions from Antarctic operations. UKRI funding also enables the use of sustainable fuels, allowing more than 40% of voyages to be carried out in a climate-friendly manner.
For BAS, the shared model creates substantially more capacity for research. Since the RRS Sir David Attenborough will no longer need to undertake its own resupply mission for Halley VI, an additional 40–60 ship days become available for scientific cruises, an important gain given the global significance of Antarctic data for climate and Earth system research.
At the same time, the partnership promotes intensive knowledge exchange. Expert teams share experience on risk management, station operations, and ice-shelf dynamics. BAS glaciologists, for example, support the analysis of the Fimbul Ice Shelf, used to offload cargo for the Troll station, an area that demands high levels of safety and precise data.
For Halley VI, the new regular supply service marks a return to normality. For years, unstable ice-shelf cracks prevented ship access; only after the major calving event of the Brunt Ice Shelf in 2023 did a safe route become accessible again. The newly established ten-year cooperation builds on this reopening and deepens existing bilateral relationships.
The collaboration is coordinated through COMNAP, the international network of national Antarctic programs. The new agreement underscores that modern polar research increasingly depends on multinational logistics models and demonstrates how strategic cooperation strengthens scientific presence in the vital climate laboratory of Antarctica.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal