MS Polarfront
MS Polarfront was a Norwegian weather ship located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the last remaining weather ship in the world, maintained by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Polarfront |
| Owner | Latitude Blanche |
| Port of registry | Marseille, France |
| Builder |
|
| Yard number | 57 |
| Laid down | 1 August 1975 |
| Launched | 1 March 1976 |
| Completed | 14 December 1976 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Expedition ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 54.25 m (178 ft) |
| Beam | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Draft | 4.368 m (14 ft) |
| Depth | 7.87 m (26 ft) |
| Ice class | DNV ICE-C |
| Installed power | Wichmann 5AX |
| Propulsion | Single shaft; controllable-pitch propeller |
A weather ship is a ship stationed in mid-ocean to make meteorological observations for weather forecasting. Since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long-range aircraft and weather buoys.
MS Polarfront was known as weather station M ("Mike"), and was located at 66°N, 02°E. Standard meteorological observations were performed on an hourly basis from the beginning of the 1960s.
On 27 February 2009, the cancellation of the station was announced. MS Polarfront was removed from service on 1 January 2010.
Since 28 June 2017, MS Polarfront has been owned and operated by the French shipping company Latitude Blanche for expedition purposes in high latitudes.