Laura Bassi (formerly Polar Queen and RRS Ernest Shackleton) is an icebreaking research vessel operated by the Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics. Between 1999 and 2019, she was the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) logistics ship, primarily used for the resupply of scientific stations in the Antarctic. Laura Bassi is ice strengthened with a double hull construction, certified Category A PC5 according to the Polar Code. She is capable of a wide range of logistic tasks, as well as having a scientific capability.
History Launched in July 1995 as MV Polar Queen for GC Rieber Shipping, she was operated in the Antarctic by other national programmes. The BAS acquired her on a long-term bareboat charter in August 1999 to replace RRS Bransfield. She was renamed RRS Ernest Shackleton in 2000, after the Anglo-Irish polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, but was known to users as "The Shack".
RRS Ernest Shackleton Between 1999 and 2019, RRS Ernest Shackleton was the main logistic ship for the BAS. She was used to resupply the survey's Antarctic research stations and also had a research capability. "Tula", a cargo tender stored on deck, allowed transfer ashore of stores and equipment when the ship could not berth alongside. During the northern summer, she was commercially chartered, often working in the North Sea. On charter to Crystal Cruise Line, she escorted its 68,000 ton liner Crystal Serenity through Canada's Northwest Passage in late August/September 2016 and 2017. After 20 years of polar duties for BAS, Ernest Shackleton was returned to her owners on 30 April 2019.
RV Laura Bassi The National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics acquired the ship on 9 May 2019. They renamed her RV Laura Bassi, in honour of the first woman to earn a professorship in physics at a university and the first woman in the world to be appointed a university chair in a scientific field of studies. In the austral summer 2019/2020, she carried out the first Antarctic mission under the Italian flag, completing two rotations between New Zealand and Zucchelli Station, the Italian Antarctic base. In November 2020, she was certified Category A PC5 according to the Polar Code rules. In September 2021, the vessel carried out its first Italian scientific campaign in the Arctic and in November 2021, it left for New Zealand as part of the 37th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica. In November 2022, during its voyage to New Zealand for the 38th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica, while still in the Mediterranean Sea, the vessel rescued 92 people drifting at sea for six days. In February 2023, she set a record by sailing further south than any ship before, achieving 78°44•280´S in the Bay of Whales, which was made possible by an unusual lack of ice. For this achievement, the vessel and its team were awarded the 29th Premio Barcola. In June 2023, the vessel spent 18 days in the Mediterranean Sea on a research campaign contributing to three different geologic and oceanographic scientific initiatives. During the 39th Italian scientific expedition to Antarctica, which ended in March 2024, researchers aboard the vessel discovered a previously unknown chain of underwater volcanoes in the seas of Northern Victoria Land in Antarctica. In December 2024, the vessel suffered a port engine failure which required repairs in the harbour of Lyttelton, New Zealand. Between December 2024 and March 2025, the vessel spent two months travelling in Antarctic waters to study physical and biogeochemical dynamics around the continent. This was the 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica as part of the Italian National Programme for Research in Antarctica. In March 2025, the vessel transported the oldest ice samples ever extracted from Antarctica, result of the Beyond EPICA project, to Europe.
See also Noosfera, formerly RRS James Clark Ross, another former British Antarctic Survey Royal Research Ship now operated by the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine RRS Sir David Attenborough, a new Royal Research Ship which entered service in 2021
References
External links Image of RRS Ernest Shackleton on the British Antarctic Survey website.
