SSAFM10043 Halley VI Relocation

Due to recent movement of the ice shelf it has become apparent that it is now necessary to move Halley VI station, as a crack has appeared in the ice; the tip of the crack is approximately five kilometres from the station and lies between the station and the mainland. The current movement of the ice shelf is such that it is assessed by ice mechanic experts within BAS that the relocation of the central station modules must take place within the next two years.

The crack is subject to routine detailed monitoring by a number of different sensors to provide accurate assessment of its progress and likely path. It is the recent growth and propagation path of the crack that has caused this situation to arise and given rise to the concern that action must be taken now to move the station.

Whilst significant resources are being expended to refine the time estimates, the process of ice flow prediction is subject to errors and so accurate prediction is difficult. Given the risks articulated above, it is considered prudent to proceed on the basis that the main modules must be moved within the two year timeframe currently given Even allowing for the best planning, there is still a large element of contingency that must be built in, as factors such as the weather can have a profound but unpredictable impact on schedules.

In order to move the station work must be conducted simultaneously in two locations – the current site (dismantling) and the new position (building the associated infrastructure). The work is complex, highly specialised and extremely challenging, often pushing people, equipment and processes to the limit.

The work will involve approximately 100 people on site and a large support team in the UK. The fact that BAS, in conjunction with its partners, was able to build Halley VI without a single time loss accident is testament to the professionalism of the team that plans executes such operations.

It is the same team that have provided the advice in this note. The planning for second phase of the work is now underway, in order to secure the safety of the people, station and associated facilities, work must continue In Antarctica this summer season i.e. November 2016 and materials must be shipped by September 2016.

To be able to make that shipping deadline, orders to procure the equipment required must be placed as soon as possible. Should those delivery deadlines be missed it will not be possible to ship the equipment to Antarctica this season. As a result, work will be delayed by at least one year and it will not be possible to relocate the station in the timescale explained.