Ships of the British Antarctic Survey

The British Antarctic Survey has two ships in service, being the    James Clark Ross and the  Ernest Shackleton.

Both vessels operate under a Royal Charter and are, therefore, called Royal Research Ships.  The James Clark Ross was purpose built in 1990 for the Survey whilst the Ernest Shackleton is on a long term (15 year) charter from Polar Ship Management of Bergen,  Norway.

The James Clark Ross took over from the John Biscoe in 1991 and the Ernest Shackleton replaced the Bransfield in 1999.

The links below will provide further detailed information on the ships,  along with photo galleries.

04/12/2007