South Africa’s Historic Polar Research Vessel Set for Auction

A South African court has ordered the auction of the country’s historic polar research vessel S.A. Agulhas. The vessel had served as South Africa’s research base for 35 years before its retirement and a sale, which had promised to revitalize the vessel.

After completing two scientific charters in the first half of this year, S.A. Agulhas, however, came under judicial arrest in the Port of Durban. The vessel had been facing financial difficulties, which led financial creditors to take legal action. The crew had also been left without pay for several months.

In an order issued last week, the Durban High Court appointed Solution Strategists auctioneers to conduct the sale of the vessel. The auction conducted by Strategic Solutions will be held online via MS Teams on January 22, 2026. Interested bidders are required to deposit a refundable registration fee of $50,000.

S.A. Agulhas is around 112 meters (367 feet) in length and has a gross tonnage of 6,123 tons. It also features an ice-strengthened hull, which was instrumental in its Antarctic voyages. The vessel was built in Japan in 1977, and for over 30 years, it supported the South African National Antarctic Program. It was retired in 2012 after the commissioning of the modern S.A. Agulhas II, which is currently supporting South Africa’s polar research and exploration.

The vessel is currently laid up at Durban's container terminal (Strategic Solutions)

The auction comes barely two years after the South African government handed over the ownership of S.A. Agulhas to the German company J*S Maritime. The government had spent years trying to find a suitable buyer for the vessel. The new owners promised to refurbish the ship for operations that they said would include expeditions and polar tourism.

One of the conditions in the sale was that J*S Maritime would continue to use the vessel to offer seafarer training to South African cadets. Since the handover event in January 2024, the repurposed S.A. Agulhas has been regarded as the de facto anchor vessel for the Seafarer Employment and Development program. With the vessel’s auction now set, maritime observers in South Africa are concerned that the seafarers’ training project could be imperiled.

In an attempt to try to save the vessel from auction, J*S Maritime mid this year transferred ownership to HF Offshore Services Mexico. However, HF Offshore was dealing with legal issues in Mexico and was unable to turn around S.A. Agulhas’ financial condition.