Petrel beached in Grytviken, South Georgia
History
NamePetrel
BuilderOslo, Norway
Completed1928
StatusDerelict
General characteristics
TypeWhaling ship
Tonnage245 GRT
Length35.1 m (115 ft 2 in)

Petrel was a whaler, built in Oslo, in 1928, in operation in the waters around Antarctica for over three decades.[1][2]

She was steam-powered, and displaced just 245 tons.[3] She was one of the first whalers built with a walkway connecting the bridge with her harpoon-cannon mounted in her bows.[4][5]

In 1957, like other ships in the South Georgia whaling fleet, she was adapted to harvesting seals from the beaches where they raised their young.[3][6] After serving as a sealing vessel Petrel was beached in Grytviken, South Georgia. According to Robert Headland's "Island of South Georgia", there was a proposal to salvage and restore Petrel in 1983.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Purcell Miller Tritton (July 2011). "Inspection of the Disused Shore-Based Whaling Stations for The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands" (PDF). Government of South Georgia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2019-04-05. An appropriate oil spill response kit and contingency plan should be developed for Petrel and other whale catchers.
  2. ↑ "The Petrel, Wreck of a Whale Catcher - South Georgia". Cool Antarctica. Archived from the original on 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2019-04-05. The Petrel is a whale catcher boat. These fast boats and their explosive harpoons in the bows were what started the industrial age of whaling. They made it possible to catch up with fast swimming large rorquals such as blue and fin whales, to harpoon them and then pump them with compressed air so they didn't sink.
  3. 1 2 "Wrecks - South Georgia". Argentine Maritime History. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-05. Petrel is 35.1 metres long, 245 tons and built in 1928 at Oslo. They were powered by triple expansion coal-fired steam engines.
  4. ↑ "History of Antarctic exploration in 30 objects: Harpoon Gun, Grytviken, South Georgia". Spirit of Mawson. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-05. Steam-driven, the Petrel was one of the first whale-catchers to feature a catwalk that allowed a gunner to run from the bridge straight to the harpoon gun.
  5. ↑ "Grytviken Whalecatchers". Submerged.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-05. She was one of the first whale catchers to have a catwalk so that the gunner could run from the bridge to the harpoon gun.
  6. ↑ "South Georgia: Grytviken 2". Archived from the original on 2017-09-14. Retrieved 2019-04-05. Petrel in Winter. Built in Oslo in 1928 - A steam driven whale catcher of 245 tons and 115 feet in length, she was converted to a sealer in 1957 by removing the open walkway from the bridge and the harpoon gun. (This was replaced later)
  7. ↑ Robert Headland (1992). The Island of South Georgia. CUP Archive. p. 152. ISBN 9780521424745. Retrieved 2019-04-05. Above, the whale catcher Petrel, which was built in Oslo, Norway, in 1928 and armed with a harpoon.
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