Rescue operation begins after Australian fishing boat gets stuck in Antarctic ice
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Version 0 of 1. An Australian-flagged fishing vessel is stuck in Antarctic ice, with New Zealand authorities dispatching a US Coast Guard icebreaker to rescue it. The 63-metre Antarctic Chieftain, with 27 aboard, damaged three of its four propellers when it struck ice about 1450km northeast of McMurdo Sound on Tuesday night. It contacted New Zealand’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre when it could not manoeuvre out of the ice. RCCNZ deployed the US Coast Guard cutter Polar Star, which was about 500km away, to help the Antarctic Chieftain. It should reach the ailing fishing boat on Thursday night. The Polar Star has a crew of 150 and was returning from Antarctica after working with the US Antarctic program, based at McMurdo Station. “In order to reach the fishing vessel, the cutter’s crew will have to break through several miles of nine-foot thick ice, endure 35mph winds and navigate through heavy snowfall to reach the Antarctic Chieftain,” said Vice-Admiral Charles Ray of the US Coast Guard. It will help the fishing vessel break free of the ice and then the New Zealand-flagged fishing vessel the Janas will tow the Antarctic Chieftain to the nearest safe harbour. The Janas is nearly 1000km away. “The considerable geographic distances and extreme environmental conditions make this a complex rescue mission,” said the Polar Star’s Captain Matthew Walker. However, they were confident they could reach the Antarctic Chieftain. The Antarctic Chieftain is owned by Tasmanian company Antarctic Longline, via a Nelson-based subsidiary company of the same name, Australian Associated Press reported. In recent years, its flag has varied between Australia and New Zealand. It fishes in the Southern Ocean for toothfish. According to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the fishing boat is captained by New Zealander Tangi Kitson. The Polar Star, nearly 40 years old, is one of the largest ships in the US Coast Guard fleet and the US’s only heavy icebreaker capable of operating in the thick Antarctic ice, and for a mission such as breaking out the Antarctic Chieftain. The Coast Guard says it is one of the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers. |