The delivery of the new polar ship to the Brazilian Navy is scheduled for 2025
By Agência Marinha de Noticias – Brasília, DF
After research and studies carried out by the Brazilian Navy (MB), the future Antarctic Support Ship (NApAnt) has had its name chosen: “Almirante Saldanha”. The NApAnt will reduce the resupplying time of the Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz (EACF), due to the cranes with greater loading and maneuvering capacity, and will be better equipped for the launching of camps and will have greater autonomy to extend research support.
The new ship will replace the Oceanographic Support Ship “Ary Rongel” and will have more modern technical resources, such as the navigation and control system, which will allow for a closer approach of the ship to the beach to safely disembark personnel and material.
The NApAnt “Almirante Saldanha” will be the second MB ship to bear the name of this historical character. The first to bear this name was the School Ship “Almirante Saldanha”, incorporated in 1934 and converted into an Oceanographic Ship in 1966, equipped by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to train the first oceanographers in Brazil.
The homage refers to Rear-Admiral Luiz Philippe Saldanha da Gama, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1846, who joined the MB in 1861. During his naval career he stood out in several opportunities such as in the Uruguay Campaign (1864-1865) and in the War of the Triple Alliance (1865-1870).
He was Commander of the Corveta “Parnaíba”, in its voyage to the Strait of Magellan and the Patagonian Coast to observe the passage of Venus through the solar disk, a great achievement in 1882. His trip of studies and astronomical observations in the extreme south of America is considered a milestone of Brazilian actions in the austral region. He was also Commander of the cruiser “Almirante Barroso” in the instruction trip of 1886 and Director of the Naval School, from 1892.
He also participated in the Revolt of the Navy (1893) in Rio de Janeiro. Finally, he fell heroically in the Battle of Campo Osório, in Sant’Ana do Livramento (RS), where he lost his life mounted on a horse and wounded with a spear in the chest, in 1895, during the Federalist Revolution (1893-1895).
Source: Marine News Agency *** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***