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.