ICE PATROL ship HMS Endurance made a rare port visit to Argentina - only the second by an RN ship since 1982 - after crossing the Atlantic on her way to Antarctica.

Unusually fine weather during the three-week voyage gave her ship's company several chances to swim as she crossed the equator and Endurance made her first call at the Argentinian port of Mar del Plata.

The ship's company enjoyed a warm welcome from local people who were also paying host to a group of British Falklands veterans. After passage through the Douglas Strait which looks like a flooded volcano, between Thule and Cook islands, she dropped 12 men at the aptly-named Bleaker Island to survey uncharted waters alone for six weeks.

Moving further south past the first ice bergs, HMS Endurance entered the pack ice and broke her way through to the Filchner Ice Shelf where she was joined by the British Antarctic Survey vessel Ernest Shackleton. Endurance's two modified Lynx helicopters were then used to establish a 750-drum fuel dump on the ice shelf for teams penetrating towards the South Pole and enjoyed a light-hearted game of 'ice rugby' afterwards.

The next job for HMS Endurance was a survey of the volcanic South Sandwich Islands and then on to South Georgia to pick up some eagerly-awaited mail. As Navy News went to press the ship was due to visit the remote island of Tristan Da Cunha where the Royal Navy has been helping to construct a new harbour after the old one was destroyed by lava flows from the volcano.

The Commanding Officer of HMS Endurance, Captain Andrew Dickson, said: "This is a spectacular and fascinating region. The environment in the Antarctic is magnificent with glaciers, icebergs and ice floes on a scale which is awe-inspiring. The penguins and seals are not used to human company and are delightfully inquisitive. If you sit down nearby they all wander over for a chat with you! We have had a wonderful as well as busy time and we are now very much looking forward to home and seeing families again in May."