Ice patrol ship circles globe

Royal Navy ice breaker HMS Protector has arrived in Punta Arenas – marking a full circumnavigation of the globe since October.

Since leaving the UK, the ice patrol vessel has sailed more than 18,500 nautical miles of which 3000 were across the Southern Ocean.

Able Seaman (Sea) Clare Start said: “I’ve been able to visit lots of places I’ve not been to before with HMS Protector and have seen some amazing scenery.”

Close to the ice edge, the bridge team encountered huge icebergs, some measuring more than half a nautical mile in diameter.

HMS Protector sailed solo and was at times more than 1000nm away from any other ship or human settlement in Antarctica and over 2000nm from both South America and New Zealand.