Dana expand into the polar regions with RRS Sir David Attenborough

Dana expand into the polar regions with RRS Sir David Attenborough

Constructed at the Cammell Laird shipyard, last month saw Sir David Attenborough launch the 10,000-tonne hull of his namesake into the River Mersey, where building of the UK’s newest polar ship continues.

With decades of experience in the marine sector, through the Brevini® brand, Dana were awarded the contract to supply geared motors to drive the steering element of the Tees White Gill thrusters which will enable the polar research vessel to manoeuvre and position accurately, even in heavy ice water conditions.

Dana K series helical gearmotor

Dana supplied 4x 15kW KR673 geared motors with output shaft and flange dimensions according to the customer’s specific requirements. These are fitted to the Tees White Gill 60T3S-QR vertical pump-jet azimuth thrusters. As Adam Robson, lead design engineer for Tees White Gill explains, the thrusters are designed to provide “excellent manoeuvrability and station-keeping abilities in the extreme conditions in which this vessel will be operating.”

Steve Grundy, area sales manager for Dana Service and Assembly Centres UK, comments,
“We are delighted to have been awarded this contract, to supply Brevini geared motors for such a prestigious project, one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world. Now that our part of the project is complete, with Brevini gearmotors installed in the hull, we are looking forward to hearing more when the ship begins its voyages to the Arctic and Antarctic.”

RRS Sir David Attenborough will be owned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The £200m Government investment in the vessel is the most significant since the 1980s, to maintain the UK’s position at the forefront of climate and ocean research. Public interest in the project has been huge, thanks to ‘Boaty McBoatface’, which topped the online poll to name the vessel. While the name wasn’t taken up for the main ship, RRS Sir David Attenborough will carry autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), named ‘Boaty McBoatface’. These AUVs will go to places that the main ship cannot reach – so the Boaty name lives on.

Tees White Gill vertical shaft thruster