U.S. Coast Guard's Polar Star icebreaker is on its way to rescue Chinese and Russian ships stranded in the Antarctic ice.
A Russian research ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy is trapped in 10-feet thick ice since Dec. 24, 2013. On Thursday, January 2, a Chinese icebreaker, Xue Long, sent its helicopter and rescued the 52 stranded passengers on Shokalskiy, ferrying them to an Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis. However, Xue long also got stuck in the Antarctic ice and Aurora Australis, now carrying the rescued passengers, was placed on standby in case the Chinese icebreaker needs any assistance.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) overseeing the rescue operation has requested the U.S. icebreaker to assist the trapped Shokalskiy and Xue Long.
Senior crew members of the Chinese and Russian ships said they no longer require assistance from the Aurora Australis, which left with the 52 rescued passengers for Casey Station, an Australian base in Antarctica to get resuppled, and then on to Hobart, Tasmania.
"RCC Australia identified the Polar Star as a vessel capable of assisting the beset vessels following MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice overnight on 24 December, 2013," per a statement released by AMSA. "The request for the Polar Star to assist the beset vessels was made by RCC Australia to the US Coast Guard on 3 January, 2014. The US Coast Guard officially accepted this request and released the Polar Star to RCC Australia for search and rescue tasking at 8.30am on 4 January, 2014."
The Polar Star has left on its way after taking supplies for its journey. Depending on weather and ice conditions, the Polar Star is expected to reach Commonwealth Bay, where the Chinese and Russian ships are trapped, within seven days.
At 122 meters, the Polar Star is one of the largest ships in the U.S. Coast Guard fleet. The vessel has a crew of 140 people. The Polar Star is capable of continuously breaking ice up to 1.8 meters (6 feet) in depth. When traveling at three knots, it can break ice over six meters (21 feet) thick.
