MOSCOW, December 28 (RIA Novosti) – A Chinese icebreaker was unable to reach a Russian research ship trapped in ice off Antarctica on Saturday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
"Since the thick ice exceeds the ship's icebreaking capabilities and an upcoming cyclone will exacerbate icy conditions, we have to temporarily stall the ship," Wang Jianzhong, captain of icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon), told Xinhua.
The Academic Shokalskiy is currently about 6.1 nautical miles from Chinese ship and can be observed through a powerful telescope on Xuelong. The Chinese vessel has a helicopter aboard, but it cannot take off due to poor visibility and heavy snow.
The Xuelong will stay near the Russian ship to make sure that its passengers and crew are safe before resuming rescue efforts when weather conditions improve.
The vessel with 74 crew and passengers on board sent a distress signal earlier this week, saying it became trapped amidst ice flows.
A team of scientists and tourists on the Academic Shokalskiy had been retracing the steps of the famous Australasian Antarctic Expedition 101 years ago. The fare for tourists was $15,000 each, according to tour agency Expeditions Online’s website.
The ship, built by a Finnish shipyard for the Soviet Union in 1982 for Arctic research, is described as “fully ice-strengthened” by the tour agency. The vessel, chartered by the Australian company Aurora Expeditions, is owned by the Russia government and is based out of Vladivostok.
