In 2011, she was chartered as a temporary replacement for the ice patrol ship HMS Endurance and was purchased by the British Ministry of Defence in early September 2013.

Large cargo holds and open deck areas provide storage capacity for ROVs and related equipment.

At 67° 34′ S, this was the most southerly visit of her career up to that date, nearly 800 miles (1,300 km) from Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of the South America.

On the way to her second Antarctic deployment, in October 2012 Protector surveyed the wreck of the Dale-class oiler RFA Darkdale in James Bay, Saint Helena, as part of an assessment of its possible threat to the island's environment.

[29] It is the first time that a Royal Navy or British Government vessel has operated in the waters south of Australia and New Zealand since 1936.

[29][30] In addition to the ship's usual equipment, three unmanned aerial vehicles (designed and 3D printed by the University of Southampton) were embarked.

[30] In January 2016, the ship completed a five-week patrol of the Ross Sea conducting inspections in support of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, with the aid of six embarked Australian and New Zealand specialists.

[33] In November 2017, following a request for assistance from the Argentine government, Protector was redeployed to aid international efforts to locate the missing submarine ARA San Juan.

[34] In 2020 crew from the ship were trained aboard Canadian Coast Guard vessels in Arctic waters and renewed cooperation again in 2021.

Subsequently, it was reported that Protector would carry at least one of the new 11-metre survey module variants of the Sea-class work boats being procured for various tasks in the Royal Navy.