Helicopter Airlift Readied for Research Ship Crew Stranded in Antarctic

Climate change research does a lot in helping people and the environment. But what happens when a ship that carries climate change researchers get stuck in thick ice in the Antarctic, the very place where they are conducting research? It is quite ironic that the very subject of the research traps you in a situation that proved quite difficult for the crew on board and the groups trying to rescue them.

The 74 people aboard the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy can only wait for rescue to arrive. They have been stuck in unusually thick ice in Antarctica since Christmas. A complex helicopter rescue attempt will be led by the crew of Australia’s Aurora Australis and Snow Dragon of China as soon as the weather clears up, to airlift the 52 passengers to safety.

Start of the journey
The purpose of the research mission was to gauge the effect of climate change in the Antarctic. The first leg started on November 27 while the second leg of the trip started on December 8. The conclusion of the research trip is scheduled for January 4 when they are expected to return to New Zealand. On December 23 their journey came to a standstill as the ship got stuck in 3-meter thick (10 feet) ice around 100 nautical miles east of Dumont D’Urville, the French Base that is located around 1,500 nautical miles from Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.

Uncooperative weather
Weather conditions continued to be dismal so the ship sent a satellite distress signal on Christmas morning. The first rescue attempt was done by Snow Dragon or Xue Long, the Chinese icebreaker ship. It got within 11 kilometers (6 nautical miles) of the stranded ship but had to turn back on Dec. 27. On the 28th the L’Astrolabe, a French icebreaker stationed at the Dumont D’Urvile base made an attempt but also had to cut the rescue mission short because of the ice and extremely bad weather. Aurora Australis, Australia’s icebreaker was the third to try and reach them but to no avail. The ice was just too thick. It had returned to open water and will remain there to provide support, just like Xue Long.

Helicopter rescue
A helicopter from the Snow Dragon is being readied to rescue the passengers as soon as weather conditions permit. It is still difficult to make a schedule since it was raining hard yesterday and the weather continues to deteriorate. The crew has already marked the spot where the helicopter could land. It is a complex operation by the Australian and Chinese ships. The helicopter from the Snow Dragon will airlift the 52 passengers (12 passengers at a time) and a barge from Aurora Australis will meet them. The 22-member crew will remain on the ship.

All is not wasted as the researchers are using their time to study the area around the ship, studying satellite images to understand the unusual ice build-up and drilling through the ice to take photos of marine life. They have classes in language, yoga, photography and even knot tying. The penguins in the area regularly visit them, as if to keep them company.

Photo Credit: Penguins in the Antarctic