Rescued

On 24th December, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, a Russian research ship, became trapped in the Antarctic ice. It was carrying 52 passengers and 22 crew members. In the following days, three different rescue attempts by icebreakers failed. Finally, on 2nd January, a Chinese helicopter flew in to take the passengers off the ship.

The research ship departed from New Zealand for Antarctica on 28th November. It became locked in thick sea ice after strong winds pushed the ice around the ship. The ice stuck together very quickly, freezing the ship in place. Three icebreakers—ships designed to create passages through ice by breaking it—were sent to try to reach the ship, but all three failed, because they were unable to break the thick ice to move the ship.

Blinding snow, strong winds, and icy conditions thwarted all the rescue attempts, which were organized by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre. On January 2nd, a helicopter began flights to the trapped Russian ship. The helicopter carried the passengers in groups of 12 to a landing spot, where a small boat carried them to the Australian ship Aurora Australis. The ship took the 52 passengers to Tasmania. The Akademik Shokalskiy’s 22 crew members remained on board. They waited until the ice that surrounded the ship broke up.

The scientists used the time before their rescue to do research near the ship, including counting birds, to keep their spirits high. “We’re a bit sad it’s ended this way,” they said. “But we got lots and lots of great science done.”