Across the southern summer of 2012/2013 AST Oceanics chartered the NZ distant water fishing vessel AMALTAL EXPLORER to support the Australian Antarctic Division’s Blue Whale Antarctic research program. Across the southern summer of 2012/2013 AST Oceanics chartered the NZ distant water fishing vessel AMALTAL EXPLORER to support the Australian Antarctic Division’s Blue Whale Antarctic research program. Over a period of seven weeks the AMALTAL EXPLORER carried a multinational team of researchers from Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand to the ice cap of the Australian Antarctic Territory to locate, photograph, tag and track the Antarctic blue whale. The deployment was deemed one of the most successful in the Program.  In the words of the AAD “ In a world first, acoustic technology has been used to successfully find, track and study the biggest creature on Earth, the Antarctic blue whale. Blue whales are very rarely seen in the Southern Ocean and yet by using this technology scientists on a seven-week voyage to the Southern Ocean were able to collect 57 photo identifications, 23 biopsy samples and attach satellite tags to two of these colossal whales”. To see the video follow the link: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2013/australias-successful-antarctic-blue-whale-voyage