After six days navigating the icy waters, the RSV Nuyina reached the edge of the fast ice—thick ice firmly attached to the land. The vessel demonstrated its impressive icebreaking capabilities, striking the ice at approximately 9 knots and carving a path through the 1.6-meter-thick ice. The sound within the ship was remarkable as it pushed through the frozen landscape.
As the crew approached the Davis research station, they passed through a region known as “iceberg alley,” where massive icebergs of varying shapes and colors lined both sides of the ship. Some were smooth like porcelain, while others were jagged, infused with hues of pale blue and aqua. The ship anchored about a kilometer away from Davis, allowing the crew to disembark directly onto the icy terrain. It was a surreal sight to behold—a large ship seemingly “landlocked” in ice.
Once docked, the crew marked out a road and pedestrian walkway in the ice to facilitate the resupply operation. Cranes lifted containers from the ship”s hold and placed them onto trucks, which then transported the supplies to the research station. The resupply mission is expected to take just over a week, providing Davis with food, fuel, and water for the upcoming year.
During this resupply period, various project teams aboard the ship also engaged in important research activities. One team drilled a hole in the ice to deploy a remote underwater vehicle, aimed at studying marine life on the seafloor. Another group dedicated hours to retrieving data from a tide gauge near the station, focusing on sea level rise, while wildlife ecologists traveled to nearby Gardener and Warriner islands to assess the status of local penguin populations.
All expeditioners not involved in specific projects contributed to the resupply efforts. Some assisted at the station, taking on roles such as slushie or kitchen help, while others unpacked containers or monitored the fuel transfer from the ship to the station. The total cargo included approximately 500 tonnes of supplies, featuring 12,600 eggs, 500 kilos of bacon, and 600 kilos of cheese, alongside 140,000 liters of water and around 800,000 liters of fuel. In just one day, the team managed to unpack a ton of meat and ten tonnes of flour.
As the resupply operation commenced, the focus shifted entirely to logistics, leading to an early celebration of Halloween with a themed dress-up quiz, which was won by a group dressed as jellyfish. Throughout the operation, several inquisitive Adelie penguins slid by the ship, and there was even a visit from a few elegant emperor penguins, who seemed neither impressed nor surprised by the bustling activity.
