The Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship HMS Protector could not sail from Teesside to Devonport under her own power this month because of propulsion defects, and was towed instead so that engineers can work out what to do with her, according to an answer given in Parliament.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative member for Huntingdon, asked why the ship was unable to make the passage.
Luke Pollard, Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “HMS Protector was unable to sail to Devonport under her own power due to propulsion defects. She has been towed to Devonport to enable further technical work to determine the most effective future course of action for the ship.”
Answering a second question from Obese-Jecty on why the ship missed the Antarctic season, Pollard said: “HMS Protector did not deploy to the 2025 to 2026 southern summer season due to undergoing a period of prolonged essential and mandatory maintenance to ensure the viability of the vessel into the future.”
Protector is the Royal Navy’s only ice patrol ship and carries out the United Kingdom’s survey and inspection commitments in the Antarctic under the Antarctic Treaty. She was bought in 2011, originally built as the Norwegian vessel Polarbjørn, and was taken on initially as a short-term replacement for HMS Endurance, which was crippled by flooding in 2008 and never returned to service.
