The oceanographic research ship ‘Hespérides’ sailed yesterday morning from the Arsenal of Cartagena to start her 29th Antarctic Campaign. The farewell ceremony, presided by the Maritime Action Commander, Vice Admiral Victoriano Gilabert Agote, was attended by the families and relatives of the crew, as well as by the accredited media. The ‘Hespérides’ is the only Spanish ship with the capability to carry out multidisciplinary scientific research in all the seas and oceans of the world, including Arctic and Antarctic areas.
The oceanographic mission of the ‘Hespérides’ is part of the 29th Spanish Antarctic Campaign, a project at the service of R+D+I which is the result of the cooperation between different public and private institutions. Thus, in addition to the resources provided by the Ministry of Defense, other departments like the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, finances the research projects and collaborates in funding the operational expenses of the Spanish Antarctic Bases and the ‘Hespérides’. The Spanish Polar Committee is the collegiate body in charge of coordinating the activities of the different organizations involved in the Antarctic Campaigns.
The ship will sail towards the Argentine port of Mar del Plata, before heading to the Strait of Magellan to call at Ushuaia (Argentina). Here she will embark the personnel of the Spanish Antarctic Bases: the ‘Juan Carlos I’ Base, run and managed by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the ‘Gabriel de Castilla’ Base, run and managed by the Spanish Army. With them on board, the ‘Hespérides’ will set sail to Antarctica to proceed to the opening of both scientific stations, thus inaugurating the 29th Spanish Antarctic Campaign.
The main mission of the ‘Hespérides’ will be to host five scientific research projects on board, which will be carried out in the adjacent seas to the Antarctic continent. In addition, she will provide logistic support to the Bases, supplying them with the necessary material and goods and transporting personnel to and from the ports of Punta Arenas (Chile) and Ushuaia (Argentina).
The Spanish Antarctic Campaign will conclude at the end of March and the ‘Hespérides’ will again provide the adequate logistic support to close the Antarctic Bases until the next austral summer. After leaving the polar waters, the Spanish Navy’s oceanographic ship will sail to Montevideo (Uruguay) and Salvador de Bahía (Brazil), where she will call before starting her transit back to Spain.
Finally, at the beginning of June, the ‘Hespérides’ is scheduled to dock in Las Palmas (Canary Islands) and operate in the waters of that archipelago in support of another research project. This will be the last stop of the ‘Hespérides’ before returning to her base in Cartagena on June 20. By then, the ship will have deployed for 222 days.