Yesterday marked the end of a successful first construction phase of the new wharf at Rothera, the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research center, as the Antarctic winter sets in.
The final BAM construction team members have boarded the RRS James Clark Ross to make their way home following six-months of construction work, which was supported by BAS’s Technical Advisors, Ramboll.
During the season the team dismantled the existing wharf to make way for the new skeleton structure, with six of the 20 steel frames successfully installed.
Towards the end of the season the teams installed steel piles and backfield with rock to protect the new sections of the wharf from icebergs during the harsh Antarctic winter. All the plant and equipment have now been ‘winterized’ ready for phase two of the construction later this year.
Once complete, the new 74-meter long wharf will be larger and deeper than the previous one, able to accommodate the new polar research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough that will come into operation in 2020.
Watch the video for more insight into the new Antarctic wharf.