HMS PROTECTOR’S embarked Clearance Diving Element (CDE) consists of 4 divers: one Leading Diver is a permanent member of the Ships Company, a further Leading Diver and two AB(D)’s from the Fleet Diving Group (FDG) are assigned to the ship for the duration of her Antarctic patrol.
In the first of three austral summer ice patrol periods in Antarctica, the CDE dived on four separate occasions. The first took place at Jubany Station, King George Island, where the team were hosted by the Argentine divers based there. Although the weather conditions prevented the resident dive team from entering the water, the Royal Navy divers took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the Antarctic climate, achieving their first cold water dive.
Picture: LA(Phot) Arron Hoare
Images from diving undertook in Port Lockroy, situated on the Peninsula of Antarctica.
