The 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star fought a fire at approximately 9 p.m. PST Feb. 10 that broke out in the ship's incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. After initial response efforts using four fire extinguishers failed, fire crews spent almost two hours extinguishing the fire. Fire damage was contained inside the … [Read more...]
A Giant Iceberg the Size of Delaware is About to Break Off Antarctica
By Alister Doyle OSLO, June 21 (Reuters) - One of the biggest icebergs on record is like a "niggling tooth" about to snap off Antarctica and will be an extra hazard for ships around the frozen continent as it breaks up, scientists said on Wednesday. An area of the Larsen C ice shelf, about as big as the U.S. state of Delaware or the Indonesian island of Bali, is connected by … [Read more...]
Watch: Skillful Navigation Between a Rock and an Iceberg in Antarctica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ULA9tCho8 ***Sorry, but this video has been removed by the creator*** In this video you can hear the Captain skillfully direct the helmsman while navigating through the Lemaire Channel between an iceberg andluna Booth Island off the Antarctic peninsula. Video filmed in March 2017. … [Read more...]
Ship Photos of the Day – MSC-Chartered ‘Ocean Giant’ Arrives at McMurdo Station, Antarctica
A few days ago we showed you pictures of the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star clearing a navigation channel to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Today here are pictures showing the arrival of the Military Sealift Command-chartered vessel MV Ocean Giant, which is now conducting cargo offload operations at the station. As we reported, the USCGC Polar Star reached McMurdo on … [Read more...]
Antarctic Ocean To Host Worlds Largest Marine Sanctuary
By Colin Packham (Reuters) Twenty-four countries and the European Union agreed on Friday to create the world's largest marine park in the Antarctic Ocean, covering a massive 1.55 million square km (600,000 square miles) of ocean. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, meeting in Hobart, Australia, said the Ross Sea marine park would be … [Read more...]