South Africa’s iconic retired polar research vessel, the SA Agulhas I, is scheduled to be sold via a public auction next week.
This comes after the vessel was placed under judicial arrest in the Port of Durban and subsequently ordered for sale by the Durban High Court on December 11 due to severe financial difficulties encountered by its private operators following the 2024 transfer from government ownership to J*S Maritime.
According to the court order, after completing two scientific charter voyages in the first half of 2025, the operators faced mounting debts, leading creditors – including financial lenders – to initiate legal action for recovery of unpaid amounts.
This situation escalated into a prolonged period during which crew members went unpaid for several months, constituting a maritime claim under South African admiralty law and prompting the arrest.
Efforts to resolve the issues, including a mid-2025 ownership transfer to HF Offshore Services Mexico, proved unsuccessful, resulting in the court's decision to appoint Solution Strategists as auctioneers to conduct a judicial sale to satisfy the creditors' claims and distribute proceeds accordingly.
The steel-hulled, ice-strengthened Antarctic supply and oceanographic research vessel will go under the hammer online via Microsoft Teams on Thursday, January 22, at 11:00 SA time. The auction will take place with the vessel berthed at Berth 205 in the Durban International Container Terminal.
According to the auctioneer’s website, prospective bidders must register with a refundable deposit of $50 000.
Built in 1979 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, the SA Agulhas (IMO 7628136) has served the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment for over three decades as the backbone of South Africa’s Antarctic and Southern Ocean research programme. The vessel undertook regular supply runs to remote sub-Antarctic bases on Marion Island and Gough Island, as well as the SANAE IV base in Antarctica, while supporting scientific expeditions in some of the world’s harshest maritime environments.
Measuring nearly 112 metres in length, with a gross tonnage of approximately 6 123 tons and a range of 15 000 nautical miles, the SA Agulhas could remain at sea for up to 90 days. It also served as a vital training platform for maritime cadets and students before its retirement from government service in 2012.
The vessel was replaced by the modern, purpose-built SA Agulhas II, commissioned the same year and operating primarily from Cape Town. The SA Agulhas II continues to lead South Africa’s polar research efforts, including international collaborations such as contributions to the search for Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance wreck in the Weddell Sea.
Following her retirement, SA Agulhas I was transferred to private owner J*S Maritime, with conditions intended to support seafarer training programmes.
