View source for Earth:HMS Challenger (K07)

{{Other ships|HMS Challenger}}
{{Short description|Royal Navy saturation diving support vessel }}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image   = HMS Challenger 1985.jpg
|Ship caption = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header         = 
|Ship country        = United Kingdom
|Ship flag           = {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name           = HMS ''Challenger''
|Ship namesake       = 
|Ship ordered        = 9 October 1979<ref name="Janes83">{{cite book | title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1983-84 | pages=602 | isbn=0-7106-0774-1}}</ref>
|Ship builder        = Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock<ref name="clydeships">{{Cite web
 |url= https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?official_number=&imo=&builder=&builder_eng=&year_built=&launch_after=&launch_before=&role=&propulsion=&category=&owner=&port=&flag=&disposal=&lost=&ref=17939&vessel=CHALLENGER
 |title=HMS ''Challenger''
 |work=clydeships.co.uk
 |access-date=18 September 2019
}}</ref>
|Ship laid down      = 
|Ship launched       = 19 May 1981<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship acquired       = 
|Ship commissioned   = 1983<ref name="Janes83" />
|Ship decommissioned = 1990 (Royal Navy)
|Ship in service     = 
|Ship out of service = 
|Ship struck         = 
|Ship reinstated     = 
|Ship homeport       = 
|Ship motto          = 
|Ship nickname       = 
|Ship honours        = 
|Ship fate           = Sold, 1993
|Ship notes          = In Royal Navy Service, equipped with a Towed Unmanned Submersible (TUMS), and could carry and deploy LR5 submarine rescue submersible.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header         = title
|Ship country        = Namibia
|Ship flag           = {{Shipboxflag|Namibia|civil}}
|Ship name           = MV ''Ya Toivo''
|Ship namesake       = Andimba Toivo ya Toivo
|Ship owner          = 
|Ship operator       =
* NAMCO (2000-2003)
* De Beers (from 2003)
|Ship registry       = 
|Ship identification = {{IMO Number|7907697}}
|Ship route          = 
|Ship acquired       = 2000
|Ship in service     = December 2000
|Ship out of service = 
|Ship struck         = 
|Ship reinstated     = 
|Ship homeport       = 
|Ship motto          = 
|Ship nickname       = 
|Ship fate           = 
|Ship status         = In active service
|Ship notes          = Fitted out and operated as a mining vessel (seabed diamond extraction)
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header              = 
|Header caption           = (as built)
|Ship type                = Seabed Operations Vessel<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship displacement        =
* {{Convert|6500|t|LT|0|lk=out|abbr=on}} standard
* {{Convert|7185|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} full<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship length              = {{Convert|134.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Engineering:Length overall|o/a]]<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship beam                = {{Convert|18|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship draught             = {{Convert|5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="clydeships"/>
|Ship propulsion          =
* Diesel-electric
** 5 × {{Convert|6200|shp|0|abbr=on}} RKC Ruston 16-cylinder diesel engines, coupled to 2,500{{nbsp}}kW [[Physics:Alternator|alternator]]s driving electric motors (main propulsion)
** 2 × 6RKC diesel engines (auxiliary power)
** 2 × [[Engineering:Voith Schneider Propeller|Voith Schneider Propeller]]s aft
** 3 × bow thrusters<ref name="clydeships"/><ref>{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.enginemuseum.org/80s.html
 |title=Ruston Diesels for the 80s
 |work=enginemuseum.org
 |access-date=4 October 2010
}}</ref>
|Ship speed               = 15 knots, approx.
|Ship range               = 
|Ship complement          = 185<ref name="Janes83" />
|Ship sensors             = Sonar: Plessey Type 193M<ref name="Janes83" />
|Ship EW                  = 
|Ship armament            = 
|Ship armour              = 
|Ship aircraft            = 
|Ship aircraft facilities = Helicopter deck (in Namibian service)
|Ship notes               = 
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Challenger'''''   (pennant number K07) was a Royal Navy [[Engineering:Diving support vessel|diving support vessel]], operational from 1984 to 1990.

''Challenger'' had a saturation diving system allowing 12 divers to live in relative comfort in a large [[Engineering:Diving chamber|diving chamber]] amidships.<ref name="MC" />

==History==
In 1979 a paper describing the design for ''Challenger'' was presented at an Institute of Marine Engineering conference.<ref>[http://www.marinesatnav.com/navigation-technology/dynamic-positioning-conference-available-6669 (Dynamic Positioning Conference)]</ref>

HMS ''Challenger'' was a unique vessel in Royal Navy service, purpose built to support deep sea operations and saturation diving.  Built by Scotts at Greenock, the ship was launched on 19 May 1981, but not commissioned until 1984, during a time when the Royal Navy was cutting back on expenditure. The consequence was that the £80m ''Challenger'' was seen as an extravagance that the Ministry of Defence could not afford.<ref name="Janes83" />  After only a few years service, in 1990 the ship was laid up and offered for sale.  The total cost for the construction of the ship was also increased by various errors and delays during construction.

In 1993 the ship was purchased by a company, Subsea Offshore, to be converted for work decontaminating hazardous waste dumped in the [[Place:Baltic Sea|Baltic Sea]] and North Atlantic.  By 1996 the ship was still laid up and may never have been used by Subsea.

In following years the navy used other DP diving vessels for its diving work including the {{MV|Seaforth Clansman}} hired from Seaforth Maritime, which had been used while ''Challenger'' was being built.<ref name="MC">{{Cite book|title=British Warships and Auxiliaries|author=Mike Crichley|publisher=Maritime Books|page=58|date=1982}}</ref>

The vessel was later bought by the Namibian Minerals Corporation (NAMCO), and fitted with equipment to recover [[Chemistry:Diamond|diamond]]s from the sea floor.<ref name="miningweekly">{{Cite web
 |url= http://www.miningweekly.com/article/floating-diamondrecovery-vessel-performing-well-2001-11-16
 |title=Floating diamond-recovery vessel performing well
 |work=miningweekly.com
 |access-date=4 October 2010
}}</ref> The ship was converted at the Nauta Shipyard in [[Place:Gdynia|Gdynia]], Poland,<ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.nauta.pl/yatoivo_eng.html
 |title        = Stocznia Remontowa Nauta : M/V ''Ya Toivo'' (ex-''Challenger'')
 |work         = nauta.pl
 |access-date  = 4 October 2010
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20050110164612/http://www.nauta.pl/yatoivo_eng.html
 |archive-date = 10 January 2005
 |df           = dmy-all
}}</ref> and made its first diamond recoveries in December 2000.<ref name="miningweekly"/> The ship was bought by De Beers in April 2003 when it offered US$20 million for several assets, among them ''Challenger''.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==See also==
*{{annotated link|Engineering:Submarine rescue ship}}
*{{annotated link|Engineering:Deep-submergence rescue vehicle}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenger}}
[[Category:Underwater mining]]

{{Sourceattribution|HMS Challenger (K07)}}