A Chinese icebreaker that helped rescue 52 passengers from a Russian ship stranded in Antarctic ice found itself stuck in heavy ice on Friday, further complicating the 9-day “roller-coaster” rescue operation.
The Snow Dragon had ferried the passengers from the stranded Russian ship to an Australian icebreaker late on Thursday. It now had concerns about its own ability to move through heavy ice, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.
On Saturday, the Chinese icebreaker on rescue for the Russian ship got within sight of the Akademik Shokalskiy, but turned back after failing to break through the ice, more than 3 meters (10 feet) thick in some places.
The Aurora Australis and a French flagged ship tried to help, but failed to reach the ship because of strong winds and heavy snow.
“It will attempt to maneuver through the ice when tidal conditions are most suitable during the early hours of 4 January 2014,” AMSA said.
The Australian icebreaker carrying the rescued passengers, the Aurora Australis, will remain on standby in open water in the area “as a precautionary measure”, the rescue agency said.