A U.S. icebreaker ship is off to rescue two stranded foreign vessels in Antarctica.
The U.S.-owned icebreaker ship is sent by the U.S. Coast Guard to save the Russian research ship Akademik Shokalskiy and the Chinese icebreaker vessel Snow Dragon (Xue Long).
The Russian research vessel got stuck in the Antarctic pack ice on the night of December 24, and as the Chinese icebreaker tried to help it, it got stranded too.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Russian and Chinese governments then called for the aid of the U.S. Coast Guard, which in turn consented to send the Polar Star, one of its biggest ships, for the rescue task.
The high-powered U.S. icebreaker vessel is equipped with a sturdy hull and a special bow that is designed to break through a pack of ice as thick as 6 meters (21 feet) and can move continuously through 1.8 meter (6 feet) of ice at a speed of 3 knots (6 km/hr). It also has an installed heeling system that could rock the ship thus preventing it from getting trapped in the ice.
Allyson Conroy from the U.S. Coast Guard firmly believes on the ship's captain's ability and familiarity of the situation.
"The commanding officer of the Polar Star has a lot of experience with ice-breaking, this is not his first gig, he's been doing this for a while," Conroy told ABC News. "So he understands ice, he understands ice-breaking, he understands what his ship can do and the limitations."
The Polar Star, which has been steaming to Antarctica since December 3 to clear the shipping channel for re-supply vessels, canceled its mission to prioritize the rescue. It is expected to arrive to Commonwealth Bay in seven days.
Meanwhile, the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis, which helped save the 52 tourists and scientists airlifted from the trapped Russian research vessel on Thursday, is now on its way back to Casey Station.
