ARA Almirante Irízar (Q-5) Totally Explained

Everything about Ara Almirante Ir Zar Q-5 totally explained

The ARA Almirante Irízar is a large icebreaker of the Argentine Navy currently out of service due a 2007 incident.

Background

The ship was named after Vice Admiral Julián Irízar, who in 1903 (then with the rank of Lieutenant) commanded the Argentine corvette ARA Uruguay in a mission to rescue the scientific expedition of Professor Otto Nordenskjöld, which had been trapped by the Antarctic winter. The mission was a success.
She was built at the Wärtsilä shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, as per a contract signed in 1975 between the Argentine Navy and the shipyard. Irízar was launched in February 1978 and was formally commissioned on December of that year, arriving at Argentina on March 23 1979. She replaced the elderly icebreaker ARA General San Martín which was retired from active service. Almirante Irízar's peacetime missions include annual campaigns to resupply and rotate the personnel assigned to the Argentine Antarctic outposts, as well as conducting and supporting scientific endeavors in Antarctica. She has also conducted several passenger tours to Patagonia and the Antarctic.
The ship is homeported at the Argentine Navy's Buenos Aires Naval Anchorage (Apostadero Naval Buenos Aires) in the capital city of Buenos Aires.

Service

During the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur) Irízar served as a troop transport and then as a hospital ship, a role for which her crew included medical personnel from the Argentine Army in addition to the naval medical staff. After the end of the war, she was used to return Argentine POWs and injured personnel back to the continent.
The ship gained fame in 2002 when she attempted to rescue the trapped supply vessel Magdalena Oldendorff. Even though Irízar failed to break the Magdalena Oldendorff free, she managed to move it to a safety position and resupply the ship with food, medicine and medical personnel until the ice melted and Magdalena Oldendorff could return to open sea.

2004 Incident

On the 15th and 16th of March, 2004, the Irizar entered sea designated as conservation zones under the jurisdiction of the Falkland Islands and issued demands for other ships to identify themselves. This prompted a protest from the British government to the Argentinian government over its policing of seas under Falkland jurisdiction. The diplomatic note also re-asserted British sovereignty over the islands.

2007 Incident

On April 10, 2007, 22.00 Argentine time a fire broke out in the secondary electricity generators. By 23.30 the captain had ordered the evacuation. Argentine Navy and Argentine Coast Guard aircraft operated to keep track of the 24 lifeboats. The 296 persons inside the icebreaker (that includes civilians of the Antarctic bases) were helped by the nearest ships: a Panamanian tanker and by a Uruguayan and Argentine fishing vessels.
The icebreaker was returning from its annual Antarctic summer campaign, and the incident took place 140 miles east from Puerto Madryn.
The crew arrived safely to Puerto Madryn on April 12. There were no casualties Photos

taken by an Argentine Navy P-3 Orion Irizar 's Captain Guillermo Nelson Tarapow had stood alone almost 24 hours after seeing his crew safely abandon ship. Starting April 11, destroyer ARA Almirante Brown, corvettes ARA Granville and ARA Robinson, Auxiliary Ships ARA Gurruchaga and ARA Suboficial Castillo and Coast Guard PNA Thompson surrounded the Icebreaker and began rescue operations. Buzos Tacticos and members of the Rescue Team (Servicio de Salvamento) of the Argentine Navy boarded the ship and extinguished the fire. On April 15, preparations to tow the ship to Puerto Belgrano naval base began. Irizar finally arrived to Puerto Belgrano on April 20.
The fire caused the loss of the two H-3 Sea King helicopters stored in their hangar.

Specifications

Displacement: 14,899 tons
Length: 121.3 m
Beam:: 25.2 m
Draft: 9.5 m
Propulsion: 2 × 5 950 kW (16 200 hp total) propeller motors
Endurance: 60 days
Hangars: 2 Argentine Navy H-3 Sea Kings or 2 Argentine Army Super Pumas
Crew: 135
Passengers:45
Continuous ice breaking capability: ice 1 meter thick
Ramming ice breaking capability: ice 6 meters thick

Further Information

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