Ultimate HELI is pleased to announce that it will be providing helicopter support services to the Endurance 22 Expedition, which is aiming to locate, survey and film the wreck of Endurance, the lost ship of renowned polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Scheduled departure for Antarctica’s Weddell Sea will be from Cape Town, South Africa, on the 5th February 2022. The SA Agulhas II, the South African icebreaking polar supply and research ship is being used as the specialised support vessel for the expedition.
The expedition team will include leading polar scientists who will be conducting a range of studies of the ice and climate change related matters, advancing our knowledge of the Antarctic environment and global warming. These include measuring and recording the sea-ice conditions, in order to develop a system that in time, will provide continuous and automatic data of sea-ice conditions in the Antarctic, where currently very limited information exists.
Ultimate HELI will deploy 1 x Bell 412EP helicopter and a 1 x contracted Kaman K-Max specialised underslung load helicopter. The helicopters will operate passenger and heavy lift underslung flights ex SA Agulhas II in and around the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. These helicopters will also deploy remote ice camps on the frozen sea ice, allowing drilling through the thick sea ice and the deployment of the SAAB Sabertooths at a distance from SA Agulhas II.
SAAB Sabertooth hybrid underwater search vehicles, which will be used to locate, survey and film the wreck. These state-of-the-art vehicles combine the attributes of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), being able to follow a pre-programmed course, and remote operating vehicles (ROVs), sending digital signals through a fibre optic cable to the surface in real time.
Shaun Roseveare, CEO of Ultimate HELI said, “This is our eighth consecutive Antarctica season. In addition to providing annual helicopter support to various national Antarctica programs, we are proud to participate in this once in a life time expedition. Our ability to deploy two specialist helicopter types and crews on this unique expedition is a culmination of our years and years of experience in Antarctica. We wish the team members all the best for the search of the Endurance.”
