ROYAL NAVY: Antarctic patrol vessel named

In a ceremony in Portsmouth the Royal Navy’s new Antarctic patrol vessel was officially named HMS ‘Protector’ before being formally commissioned into the Navy’s fleet on Thursday, June 23rd. The ‘Protector’ has been leased from Norway’s GC Rieber Shipping for a period of three years and will, for a time, fulfil HMS ‘Endurance’s’ ice patrol role. In the meantime the long-term future of HMS ‘Endurance’ is under review by the Minsitry of Defence.