Russian ship breaks free from Antarctic
Print Edition
A RUSSIAN research ship at the center of an Antarctic rescue drama has broken free from heavy pack ice two weeks after it became trapped, officials confirmed yesterday, hours after a Chinese icebreaker that became trapped while trying to help the Akademik Shokalskiy also freed itself.
The Russian vessel had been trapped in Commonwealth Bay since Christmas Eve, while the Chinese ship that came to its rescue, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, reported last week that it too was stuck.
However, the Snow Dragon was able to use its helicopter to retrieve 52 scientists, journalists and tourists from the Russian ship and they are already on their way home aboard Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis.
Xinhua news agency said the Snow Dragon, with 101 crew aboard, successfully made its escape on Tuesday after executing a 100-degree turn, pushing away the ice and opening up a channel of water. Russia’s state news agency Meanwhile, ITAR-Tass said the Akademik Shokalskiy, with 22 crew still on board, was also making its way out of the dense ice.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Center, which is responsible for rescues in the region, said it was told early yesterday that both ships had managed to break free but were making slow progress.
Spokesman Sam Cardwell told the Australian Broadcasting Corp radio that a shift in the winds “...took the pressure off the ice and allowed them to break free.”
US Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star cut short an Australian stopover on Sunday to head to the rescue of the two vessels by clearing a navigational path through Commonwealth Bay.
The journey from Sydney had been expected to take the 122-meter cutter a week.
The Coast Guard said the Polar Star had changed course and was now heading for Ross Sea to fulfill its original task.
The Polar Star had left its home port of Seattle last month on a mission to break a channel through the sea ice of McMurdo Sound to allow the resupply and refueling of the US Antarctic Program’s McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole stations.
The Australian icebreaker was headed toward Australia’s Casey Station, which it will resupply before returning to the Australian state of Tasmania with the 52 passengers from the Akademik Shokalskiy.
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