Antarctic challenge
International Antarctic Expedition (IAE) 2012
Lloyd’s Register has sent a four-man team on the International Antarctic Expedition (IAE) 2012 led by polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan, OBE. They will work on renewable energy and environmental projects. Initially these projects will have application in Antarctica but, over time, should have resonance across the globe.
Lloyd’s Register has sent a four-man team on the International Antarctic Expedition (IAE) 2012 led by polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan, OBE. They will work on renewable energy and environmental projects. Initially these projects will have application in Antarctica but, over time, should have resonance across the globe.
Human activities in Antarctica are governed by an international agreement known as the Antarctic Treaty System, established in 1959. This unique international agreement ensures that Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes only and that the environment is protected. Currently there is a moratorium in place that bans drilling or mining in Antarctica called the Environmental Protocol, established in 1991 which is due for review in 2041. As this year approaches, Swan’s goal is to ensure that today people make informed and sustainable decisions for tomorrow. His organisation is called 2041 - find out more about it at www.2041.com.
The expedition
Held on the centenary year of British explorer’s Robert Scott’s heroic and ill-fated journey to the South Pole, the expedition will depart from Ushaia, Argentina on 29 February and sail via the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. As the ship – Sea Spirit – sails south, experts on the environment, climate change, and sustainable development will give presentations on the wildlife, geology, history and geography of the Antarctic Peninsula, and Robert Swan will deliver his personal leadership and sustainability programme 'Leadership on the Edge'.
Once they reach the Antarctic Peninsula, they will board inflatable zodiacs to cruise along spectacular ice shelves, follow whales feeding near the surface and make numerous shore landings in such sites as Cuverville Island, which is home to some 40,000 penguins.
“It is our mission to inform, engage and inspire the next generation of leaders to take responsibility, be sustainable, and know that now is the time for action in policy development, sustainable business generation and future technologies,” says Swan. “The IAE will inspire [the participants] to return home and create change on the personal level, the community level, the corporate and beyond.”
Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice and 70% of the world’s fresh water, but says Swan, “Scientists forecast significant warming and reduction of sea ice surrounding Antarctica over the 21st century, all of which will contribute to rising sea levels and climate change.”
The expedition set sail on 1 March from Ushuaia, Argentina.
Our team
The Lloyd's Register team has two specific aims. Firstly, Richard Smith, Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance's (LRQA) Climate Change Manager for Australasia, will work with 2041, on and off Antarctica, to help them to achieve carbon neutrality for the project. The team's second goal will see Lloyd's Register engineering specialist, Teemu Piipponen, work at 2041's Antarctic base on King George Island to test micro-renewable energy systems in the Antarctic’s harsh conditions. Two more expedition members, Stephen Mushin, from Australia, and Patrick Yeom, from Korea, joined the expedition after entering the LRQA/British Council's E-idea competition.
For more details about our team and what they hope to achieve read our press release.
Expedition blog
Richard Cook, our Asia Communications Manager, is sending blogs from the expedition read more here.