Norwegian shipping firm GC Rieber Shipping is going to sell its icebreaking research vessel Ernest Shackleton to an undisclosed buyer after it negotiated an agreement for the early redelivery of the vessel from British Antarctic Survey.
The ship was built by Kverner Klevin Leirvik in Norway for GC Rieber Shipping, and launched in 1995 as the Polar Queen and it was acquired by BAS in August 1999 under a long-term charter arrangement and renamed Ernest Shackleton in 2000.
GC Rieber Shipping expects a cash gain of NOK140m ($16.38m) from the sale.
GC Rieber Shipping currently operates 11 and has direct and indirect ownership in 23 special purpose vessels for defined markets within the subsea, ice/support and marine seismic segments.