Antarctic Ice-bound Ships Moving: US Rescue Mission Icebreaker Stands Down
Both the 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and the 'Xue Long' have managed to break free from heavy ice in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica, informs the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia). According to the the U.S. Coast Guard, the Cutter Polar Star was released by AMSA from search and rescue duties after the Coast Guard Pacific Area command center received confirmation that both ships had broken through the heavy ice. At about 7-30pm AEDT on Tuesday…
Update: Chinese Icebreaker Stuck After Rescue
According to a Reuters report, the Chinese icebreaker that helped rescue 52 passengers from a Russian ship stranded in Antarctic ice found itself stuck in ice on Friday, January 3, 2014. According to the Reuters report, Snow Dragon had ferried the passengers from the stranded Russian ship to an Australian icebreaker late on Thursday. It now had concerns about its own ability to move through heavy ice, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said. The Australian icebreaker carrying the rescued passengers…
Christmas Cruise Ship Beset by Antarctic Ice
Seventy four people spent Christmas aboard the Russian cruise ship 'MV Akademik Shokalskiy' beset by ice in a remote region off the coast of Antarctica. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is co-ordinating the search and rescue operation, and 3 ice-breaking vessels in the area are now en route, although all are at least two days sailing away. The ship is in the Australian Search and Rescue region, 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont D’Urville, having been caught in the ice while on a cruise to the site of an historic Antarctic expedition.
