Sa-Agulhas

On March 6, 2026, the former South African Antarctic supply ship 'SA Agulhas', with its name shortened to 'Agulhas' sail from Durban harbour for the last time. The ship was dhipbreaking yards of South Asia — India or Bangladesh — where the ship will finally be dismantled, thus marking the end of an era in South Africa’s maritime and scientific history. The next port of call was Port Louis with an ETA as of March 23. The 'SA Agulhas'was South Africa’s first dedicated Antarctic supply ship, commissioned to support the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP). For more than three decades (1978–2012), the 'SA Agulhas' was the logistical backbone of South Africa’s polar operations. She: – completed over 20 voyages to Antarctica, supplying the SANAE bases. – regularly serviced Marion Island and Gough Island, delivering personnel, equipment, and provisions. – chartered at times to carry Indian Antarctic expeditions, strengthening South Africa’s role in international polar cooperation. – after retiring from Antarctic duty in 2012, she was repurposed as a training vessel under the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), continuing to shape future generations of seafarers. Report with photos: https://africaports.co.za/#11106

The former 'S.A. Agulhas', now renamed 'Agulhas', has left Durban for breaking in India on March . The decommissioned research ship had been alongside in Durban, at various berths, for the last eight months, as debts racked up. She was auctioned initially on Jan 22, but failed to achieve her reserve price of 80% of her assessed market value. A higher offer was then received, and at a second auction on Jan 25 she was sold for recycling for $1.02 million. She was recently sold to German interests, ostensibly for refitting as a research vessel, but this venture obviously did not generate her hoped-for life extension. It's sad to see this notable vessel leave South African waters for the last time, heading for the breakers.

Sold to Breakers as is Durban 240 USD/TO

The 'SA Agulhas' has been set to be auctioned in a judicial arrest online via MS Teams on Jan 22m 2026, from Berth 205 at the Durban International Container Terminal. A refundable registration deposit of $50 000 is required to take part in the auction, and full details — including the court order, ship documents, and an independent condition survey have been made available on https://solutionstrat.com/ Built in 1979 by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the vessel was owned by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and served South Africa’s Antarctic and Southern Ocean research programme for more than three decades, making regular supply runs to remote bases on Marion Island, Gough Island, and the SANAE Antarctic station, and carrying scientists and crew into some of the most challenging waters on earth. The 'SA Agulhas' was retired in 2012, when it was replaced by the modern 'SA Agulhas II', a larger, purpose-built icebreaking research and supply vessel also owned by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and operating out of Cape Town.

Vessel S.A. AGULHAS (IMO: 7628136) has been reported to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) for abandonment. Details: - Flag: Antigua and Barbuda - Port: Durban - Country: South Africa - Owed Wages: 2 months - Number of Seafarers: 15 - Seafarer Nationalities: South Africa - Reported to ITF: 01 Sep 2025 - Status: Open This information is sourced from the ITF Seafarers abandonment list, which tracks cases of crew abandonment worldwide.

In 2019 the "S.A. Agulhas" will start a search for the polar exploration ship "Endurance" which has not been seen since 1915, when it was crushed by sea ice in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea during a failed Trans-Antarctic crossing by Ernest Shackleton. A team of scientists will attempt to locate the wreck when they visit the area to study the Larsen C Ice Shelf, the mega-iceberg that broke off the continent in July 2017. The "S.A. Agulhas II" should reach the area in January or February as part of the Weddell Sea Expedition 2019. But the search for the remains of Endurance will be contingent on if the crew has the time and opportunity to send an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to the right location. They are fitted with downward-looking multi-beam echosounders, which can map out on a grid the shape of the seafloor. The final position of the ship when it sunk Nov 21, 1915 was believed to be about 100 to 150 nautical miles from Larsen C, making the ship an irresistible target. If it is found, it’s likely to be in excellent condition because the Antarctic Circumpolar Current may have kept wood-boring sea worms from damaging the wreck, which, if discovered, will be declared a protected historic monument. It would be surveyed, photographed and filmed it and document its condition. “If there are deep-water marine species colonizing the wreck, the marine biologists may try to obtain scientific samples using the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), if that can be deployed above the site from the ship. However, we will not remove any items from the wreck.

In 2012, the South African polar vessel SA Agulhas was going to "retire" after 35 years of service. But now she is as busy as ever. The Red Taxi, as she was known to South African polar teams, left Cape Town on a 2500km voyage to Bouvet. On board are a team from the Norwegian Polar Institute, and 62 South African sea cadets, as the ship is now a dedicated training vessel. We want to keep the ship as busy as possible," says capt Okke Grapow, senior specialist for maritime projects at the South African Maritime Safety Authority, the vessel's new owners. Since the ship was taken over by SAMSA, it has been up, and down the African Coast, did a research voyage and went all the way north to London to pic up the Coldest Journey expedition, and all the way south to drop them in Antarctica. – Source : Die Burger

A big ice-breaker ship will be coming up the Thames at around 3pm this afternoon, Mon, Dec.3, 2012 - coming from Canary Wharf and up through Tower Bridge before mooring alongside the HMS Belfast for three days. S.A. Agulhas is the expedition ship for Ranulph Fiennes’ latest and last polar expedition, where he is attempting to become the first person to cross Antarctica during winter. The ship is in London taking on board vital equipment and supplies for the expedition, before she departs with a royal send-off from Prince Charles on Thursday 6 December.