Tuesday 31 December 2013

Hello, Antarctica ,
Happy New Year !
there at 63.8 S, 155.22 E

That's where the MVAkademik Shokalskiy is trapped in the frozen sea, few miles north of the antarctic base Dumont D'Urville:


Three icebreakers were successively unable to rescue the russian ship, itself built in Finland in 1982 and "fully ice-strengthened " for arctic and antarctic seas.

After the failed attempts of one chinese and one french middle-class icebreakers to reach the Shokalskiy, a stronger and powerful australian ship, the Aurora Australis, was called from Casey, where it was anchored for the usual summer supply, to help release the russian / australian team and crew:



But no ship is prepared for zero visibility. A dense blizzard stopped the Aurora Australis just after it entered the frozen seas, some 10 miles from the Shokalskiy. No rescue could be done in such conditions.


Too thick, damn !

Ah, technology. But yes, there are other means - helicopters can at least rescue the scientific team and some tourists aboard, leaving the crew to maneuver as the ice recedes.

At least, they are having some fun in the antarctic Summer:



Treading on the ice to level a helipad. 

What an unexpected Ultima Thule there!

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