A marine engineering has set sail for the South Pole to undertake what is thought to be the the first underwater welding project of its kind inside the Antarctic Circle.
Shetland and Aberdeen-based Ocean Kinetics has teamed up with civil engineers, Arch Henderson, to fix a quay thought to have been damaged by in iceberg at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera Research Station.
Temperatures at Rothera can drop to – 20C in the winter months During the summer, when the repair works will be carried out, the temperature varies between 0C and 5C.
Michael Fox, Marine Projects Director for Ocean Kinetics, said the firm had to prepare extensively for what is expected to be a 12-day job when its ship arrives in February.
He said: “Taking into consideration how remote the location of the project is, we had to send plenty of spare parts along with back up welding sets and generators. If something was to breakdown there it would take weeks, if not months, to ship in a replacement.
“We deployed the plant and dive equipment for the project on a ship on September 8, 2015.
“This is an exciting project for both companies and we think we might be the first UK company to carry out underwater welding within the Antarctic Circle for BAS.”