Loading the Mary Arctica at Zeebrugge
We documented the loading of the Mary Arctica, the ship that is transporting cargo to Antarctica for BELARE 10. It took 10 hours to load 45 containers of equipment and supplies (including food), plus two modified Toyota Hiluxes onto the ice class cargo vessel at the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge on the North Sea coast. The Mary Arctica sailed out of the port for Cape Town, South Africa, in the early hours of Sunday 14 December. After a short stop in Cape Town, the ship will continue on to the coast of East Antarctica, where the BELARE team will unload the cargo before transporting it to the Princess Elisabeth station.
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A view of the loading dock at the Port of Zeebrugge on the North Sea coast of Belgium.
© International Polar Foundation
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A crane used to load containers onto cargo vessels.
© International Polar Foundation
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One of the Mary Arctica crew watches the loading procedures with International Polar Foundation Vice-President Nighat Amin aboard the Mary Arctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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One of the two new modified Toyota Hiluxes waiting to be loaded onto the Mary Arctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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The loading crane is massive - about 70 metres high!
© International Polar Foundation
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The crew of the Mary Arctica inspecting cargo about to be loaded.
© International Polar Foundation
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A quarter of the Mary Arctica's massive cargo hold is being used for BELARE 10. The remainder is being shared with other countries that are shipping cargo to their stations in Antarctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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Loading continued well into the night. It took a total of 10 hours from start to finish!
© International Polar Foundation
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A view from above of containers being loaded into cargo hold of the Mary Arctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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Preparing to load one of the Toyota Hiluxes onto the Mary Arctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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Overseeing the last containers being loaded onto the Mary Arctica. Almost ready for departure!
© International Polar Foundation
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The two modified Toyota Hiluxes safely in the cargo hold of the Mary Arctica.
© International Polar Foundation