AMWU members in Tasmania are developing world-first equipment to guarantee power supply to Australia’s Antarctic research stations. 

Design and maintenance workers from Australian Antarctic Division’s workshops in Hobart have begun work on a refuelling system that will allow oil to be pumped over eight kilometers from supply ships to the remote Davis station. 

Draughtsman and AMWU site delegate Brett Gogoll said the technology was just one of a number of innovative projects developed by the team.

“We’re constantly having to come up with modifications and solutions for the very unique environment of Antarctica. The oil hose is probably one of the most challenging yet. We’ve looked everywhere, but no one else is making them.”

In recent years, sea ice, sometimes stretching up to nearly eight kilometers out from the shore has blocked supply ship access to Davis Station (2250 nautical miles south-south west of Perth, the most southerly of all the research stations). It has proved costly and dangerous for the Division.

“All the stations are powered by diesel generators, they can hold up to 900,000 litres of oil per station. But if they weren’t able to replenish their stocks and power went out, the expeditioners would die very quickly,” Mr Gogoll said.

The electrical, marine science and mechanical workshops manufacture all equipment with the sensitive Antarctic environment in mind. 

“The last thing we need is for the hose to break and thousands of litres of oil to flood the ocean. In everything we do we have to be vary mindful of how the equipment will interact with the environment.“

In recent years, the workshops have developed a diverse range of equipment and appliances. From satellite tracking systems for whales and seals, outdoor video cameras that capture penguin colony activity to sleds and larger snow vehicles. 

“The research teams in the Antarctic are at the forefront of climate research. We support them through making and modifying the equipment and tools they need to do that job,” he said.

“At various points management have tried to shut the workshops down. We’re doing work that virtually no one else in the world can replicate. Sometimes I think they forget how much money we save the taxpayer.”

In June the AMWU will begin negotiating a new union collective agreement for the workers. Site organiser Anne Urquhart said it was time for an improved deal.

“There is no doubt the expertise and skills of the workers at the Division are undervalued. They play an essential role in keeping the research stations equipped and functioning.

“The AMWU will negotiate to ensure they are given the capacity to carry on that excellent work through improved pay and conditions. We want to see them thrive long into the future; it really is an important workshop.”