Snow Dragon closing in on ship trapped in Antarctic ice
Print Edition
A CHINESE icebreaker was closing in on the frozen seas where a scientific mission ship is trapped off Antarctica yesterday, as those onboard welcomed the easing of blizzard conditions.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue of Russian passenger ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, said it had experienced very strong winds and limited visibility.
The ship, with 74 people on board, has been trapped in ice about 100 nautical miles east of French base Dumont D’Urville since Tuesday.
Three boats with icebreaking capability have diverted to try to help free it, with China’s Snow Dragon around 15 nautical miles from the vessel earlier in the afternoon, but progressing at slow speed, the authority said.
Later, crew members on board the trapped ship said the Chinese vessel could now be seen on the horizon.
In a video posted online, expedition leader Chris Turney described his crew’s relief once they knew rescuers were near.
“[Snow Dragon] turned up about an hour ago and it’s making steady progress — around two knots. It should be alongside us, if all things go well, in the next two to three hours. There’s a lot of relief amongst the team and there’s lots of happy faces,” he said.
It is not known whether the icebreaker will be able to immediately cut through to the stranded ship or will wait for assistance from the other two boats, the French vessel L’Astrolabe — about 20 nautical miles away — and the Australian Antarctic Division’s Aurora Australis.
“Weather conditions improved on Friday, with strong winds and snow abating,” the authority said. “Conditions are expected to remain favorable for the next two days.”
Chris Fogwill, one of the scientists on the Akademik Shokalskiy, said the ship had been in an area which was normally open water but had been caught out by a change in the weather which forced them into heavy ice.
“We’ve had a blizzard rolling most of yesterday,” Fogwill told the ABC yesterday. “It’s beginning to ease which is good and we think, you know, that the wind is getting lighter and lighter.”
The vessel is well stocked with food and is in no danger and Fogwill said the Russian crew were running the engines for at least part of each day to ensure the ship’s workings remained free of ice.
“We’ve been stuck in ice since Christmas Eve, so we had a stationary Christmas in the ice. But it has ... helped to carry on doing science, which has been fantastic.”
The ship is carrying scientists and tourists following the path of explorer Sir Douglas Mawson a century ago.
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