MS Polarfront

History
Name: Polarfront
Owner: Latitude Blanche
Port of registry: Marseille,  France
Builder: Mandal Slip & m.V. (hull)
Fitjar Mek.Verksted AS (outfitting)[1]
Yard number: 57
Laid down: 1 August 1975[1]
Launched: 1 March 1976[1]
Completed: 14 December 1976[1]
Identification: IMO number: 7608708
Call sign: FJYK
MMSI number: 228092600
Status: In service
General characteristics [1]
Type: Expedition ship
Tonnage: 927 GT
278 NT
Length: 54.25 m (178 ft)
Beam: 10 m (33 ft)
Draft: 4.368 m (14 ft)
Depth: 7.87 m (26 ft)
Ice class: DNV ICE-C
Installed power: Wichmann 5AX
Propulsion: Single shaft; controllable-pitch propeller

MS Polarfront was a Norwegian weather ship located in the North Atlantic. She was the last remaining weather ship in the world, maintained by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

A weather ship is a ship stationed in mid-ocean to make meteorological observations for weather forecasting. Since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long range aircraft and weather buoys.

MS Polarfront was known as the weather station M ("Mike"), and was located at 66°N, 02°E. Standard meteorological observations were performed on an hourly basis since the beginning of the 1960s.

On 27 February 2009, the cancellation of the station was announced.[2] MS Polarfront was removed from service on 1 January 2010.

History of Station M

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) took the responsibility to operate an international network of Ocean Weather Stations in The North-Atlantic. The network was established in 1948 and consisted of 13 stations. Station ‘M’ (Mike) was one of these. The need for weather ships from civil aviation decreased gradually while the Meteorological society still needed the observations from the oceans. In 1974 the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) took the responsibility for the four remaining stations. The international agreement about weather ships was ended in 1990. Great Britain and Norway continued the operation of one station each, Lima west of Scotland and Mike in the Norwegian Sea. Lima was ended in the middle of the 1990s. Thus Mike was the only one still remaining.

The first two weather ships to man station “M” were Polarfront I and Polarfront II. The Norwegian authorities were the ship owners. The ships were rebuilt Royal Navy corvettes (HMS Saxifrage and HMS Bryony). They were on duty until 1974 and 1976. In 1974 the Norwegian state made an agreement with the shipping company Misje Offshore Marine AS in Bergen to hire a new and modern ship, which was given the name Polarfront.

For several years the ship alternated with the Dutch weather ship Cumulus to man station ‘M’. From 1986 and onward Polarfront manned station ‘M’ alone. Each month Polarfront left the station for 1–2 days to take on a new crew and new supplies. Once a year, usually in the beginning of October, the ship stayed in her home port for a week to carry out maintenance.

LATITUDE BLANCHE the polar french line

Since the 28 June 2017, Polarfront is owned and operated by the French shipping company Latitude Blanche for expedition purposes in high latitudes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Polarfront (10693)". DNV GL Vessel Register. Det Norske Veritas. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Siste reis for værskipet - yr.no (Norwegian)

[1]

Coordinates: 66°0′N 2°0′E / 66.000°N 2.000°E / 66.000; 2.000

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