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Icebreaker
US ice-breaker Polar Star is to help the Chinese and Russian ships that are stuck in thick ice in Antarctica following a rescue mission.
The Polar Star has been asked to cut a path through the ice in order to free the Xue Long and the Akademik Shokalskiy, the US Coast Guard said.
The Xue Long became ice-bound after helping to rescue 52 passengers stranded on Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy on Thursday.
The Akademik Shokalskiy has been trapped since December 24.
The Polar Star is responding to requests for assistance from the Australian authorities as well as from the Russian and Chinese governments, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Xue Long became ice-bound after helping to rescue 52 passengers stranded on Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy
“Our highest priority is safety of life at sea, which is why we are assisting in breaking a navigational path for both of these vessels,” said Vice Adm Paul Zukunft, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area.
The Polar Star, which is specifically designed for open-water icebreaking, was due to leave Sydney, Australia, on Sunday and is expected to arrive at the stranded ships in a week’s time, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
It comes after the Xue Long confirmed it was trapped following a rescue mission to remove passengers on board the Akademik Shokalskiy.
On Thursday, a helicopter from the Chinese ship transferred 52 people from the Akademik Shokalskiy to the Australian vessel, the Aurora Australis.
Most of the Russian crew-members stayed on board the Akademik Shokalskiy.
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Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy stranded in East Antarctica since Christmas Day remained stuck as the latest rescue efforts were thwarted by fierce winds and poor visibility.
An Australian icebreaker trying to reach the Russian scientific mission ship was forced to turn back.
Earlier attempts by Chinese and French icebreakers to reach the Akademik Shokalskiy were also foiled by the thick ice.
Seventy-four scientists, tourists and crew are on the ship.
The vessel is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition to follow the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
Scientists on board thought the ice was much thicker than usual for this time of year.
Akademik Shokalskiy stranded in East Antarctica since Christmas Day remained stuck as the latest rescue efforts were thwarted by fierce winds and poor visibility
The Aurora Australis icebreaker had been forced to turn back to clear water and was repositioning to try to find another route towards the Shokalskiy.
In a statement, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said: “The area where the MV Akademik Shokalskiy is beset by ice is currently experiencing winds of up to 30 knots and snow showers.”
“These weather conditions have resulted in poor visibility and made it difficult and unsafe for the Aurora Australis to continue today’s attempt to assist the MV Akademik Shokalskiy.”
Earlier, it was thought that passengers could be winched to safety by a helicopter on board the Chinese icebreaker, which had to abort its rescue mission on Saturday.
However, AMSA spokeswoman Lisa Martin told Reuters news agency: “We can’t fly a helicopter in these conditions either. There is essentially nothing we can do at this point of time.”
The Aurora Australis would have to wait for the weather to improve before making a second rescue attempt, she added.
Despite being trapped, the scientists on board have continued their experiments, measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
Akademik Shokalskiy was trapped on Christmas Day by thick sheets of ice, driven by strong winds, about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart – the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
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An Australian vessel is en route to East Antarctica in a renewed bid to free Akademik Shokalskiy scientific mission ship trapped in dense pack ice since Christmas.
Earlier rescue attempts by Chinese and French icebreakers were foiled by the thick ice.
Seventy-four scientists, tourists and crew are on the Akademik Shokalskiy.
The vessel is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition to follow the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
The Shokalskiy remains well stocked with food and is in no danger, according to the team.
An Australian vessel is en route to East Antarctica in a renewed bid to free Akademik Shokalskiy
Despite being trapped, the scientists have continued their experiments, measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is coordinating the rescue, said the Aurora Australis was expected to reach the trapped research ship on Sunday around 12:00 GMT.
The powerful icebreaker can cut ice up to 5.2 ft thick – potentially still enough to plough through the estimated three-metre wall surrounding the Shokalskiy.
If this latest relief operation fails, passengers could be winched to safety by a helicopter on board the Chinese icebreaker, which had to abort its rescue mission on Saturday.
The Snow Dragon came within seven nautical miles of the Russian ship before stalling and being forced to return to the open sea.
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Russian Akademik Shokalskiy scientific mission ship, trapped in dense pack ice off East Antarctica, is still awaiting rescue after Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon failed to reach it.
The Snow Dragon icebreaker was itself stalled by heavy ice, officials say.
It had been trying to cut a path through the ice in order to help the research vessel reach open water.
The Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been trapped since Christmas Day, has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.
They are following the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
One of the leaders of the expedition, Chris Turney, earlier tweeted an image of the Snow Dragon icebreaker – also known as the Xue Long – on the horizon as it approached the research ship.
The Chinese vessel came within seven nautical miles of the expedition ship, but encountered heavy ice and was forced to return to the open sea.
Akademik Shokalskiy scientific mission ship is still awaiting rescue after Snow Dragon icebreaker failed to reach it
“Our rescue boat, the Xue Long, has had to turn back because the ice was too thick for it to get through,” said Alok Jha, a journalist on board the Shokalskiy.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue, confirmed that a French vessel had also failed to penetrate the ice.
The agency said another boat, the Aurora Australis, was on its way to the Russian vessel and expected to arrive on Sunday.
“I think we’re probably looking at another 24 hours of twiddling our fingers and waiting for something to happen,” the expedition’s spokesman Alvin Stone told the Associated Press.
Correspondents say expedition members could be winched to safety by a helicopter if the weather remains favorable.
The research ship Shokalskiy was trapped by thick sheets of ice that were driven by strong winds about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart – the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
There had also been fears that blizzards could hamper the rescue effort.
The Shokalskiy is well stocked with food and is in no danger, according to the team.
Although trapped for the moment, the scientists are continuing their experiments. They have been measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
The Russian scientific mission ship, trapped in dense pack ice off East Antarctica since Christmas Day, is close to being rescued as Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon nears.
The crew can see the Snow Dragon icebreaker, which will try to cut a path through the ice allowing the research vessel to reach open water.
The Akademik Shokalskiy ship has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.
They are following the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
Akademik Shokalskiy ship has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition
One of the leaders of the expedition, Chris Turney, tweeted an image of the Snow Dragon icebreaker on the horizon as it approached the ship.
The Chinese icebreaker – twice the length of the Shokalskiy – may ask for assistance from two other boats, the French vessel L’Astrolabe and Australia’s Aurora Australis.
The research ship was trapped by thick sheets of ice that were driven by strong winds about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart – the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
There had also been fears that blizzards could hamper the rescue effort
The Shokalskiy is well stocked with food and is in no danger, according to the team.
Although trapped for the moment, the scientists are continuing their experiments. They have been measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
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