HMS Protector passes through Panama Canal and arrives in Pacific on way to Antarctica

HMS Protector has arrived in the Pacific Ocean after sailing through the Panama Canal, continuing her journey to Antarctica.

The artificial waterway connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, enabling vessels to travel through the Central American country, Panama, avoiding the route around the southernmost tip of South America.

The Royal Navy's ice patrol ship spent two weeks carrying out ice-breaking operations in the Hudson Bay, the inland sea indenting east-central Canada – her first northern mission in two years.

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The main purpose of the vessel's deployment was to provide training for navigation of the region but also to form close bonds with the Canadian Coast Guard, which deploys 20 icebreakers across the Arctic.

Protector routinely deploys to the South Atlantic, operating in and around the Antarctic Peninsula, but occasionally heads into Arctic conditions.

In a post on X, HMS Protector described passing through the Panama Canal as achieving a "top sailors' bucket list location", sharing a timelapse video showing some of the scenery and sealife spotted along the way.

HMS Protector is the Royal Navy's only ice patrol ship.

She is referred to as the Royal Navy's Swiss army knife because she's red, versatile, and always there when she's needed!