美國破冰船馳援雪龍號 需7天抵達

The US Coast Guard was dispatching a special ice-breaking cutter to help free two ships lodged in the Antarctic, officials announced Saturday.

The Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only active heavy polar ice breaker, was being sent to help free the Russian and Chinese vessels from thick bands of ice, officials said.

According to a Coast Guard statement, the Polar Star left its home port of Seattle in early December on one of its primary missions, Operation Deep Freeze. The mission involves breaking a channel through the sea ice of McMurdo Sound to resupply and refuel the U.S. Antarctic Program’s McMurdo Station on Ross Island.

“Our highest priority is safety of life at sea, which is why we are assisting in breaking a navigational path for both of these vessels,” said Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, the Coast Guard Pacific Area commander. “We are always ready and duty-bound to render assistance in one of the most remote and harsh environments on the face of the globe.”

Zukunft said 52 scientists and tourists who had been trapped for a week aboard the Russian vessel, the Akademik Shokalskiy, had been airlifted to safety Thursday by helicopter from the second stranded ship, the Chinese vessel Xue Long, or Snow Dragon.

The scientists and tourists were taken to an Australian icebreaker called the Aurora Australis, which is expected to transport them to Tasmania in mid-January. The 22 crew members stayed with the vessel, which was not in danger of sinking and had enough supplies to last weeks.

A Chinese reporter aboard the Xue Long said Saturday that an iceberg had appeared overnight and was blocking the ship’s passage. The 101 crew members aboard the ship were described as safe and fully supplied.

The Polar Star was responding to a request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, coordinator for the ongoing rescue operations.

The National Science Foundation manages the US Antarctic Program, which coordinates all science research and related logistics in Antarctica and on the Southern Ocean. McMurdo Station is the logistics hub for NSF’s research.

For more than 50 years, Coast Guard icebreaker crews have deployed to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, U.S. officials said. Before being cut short to help in the rescue mission, the cutter was deployed to help create a navigable shipping lane through the layers of sea ice in McMurdo Sound and permit the delivery of critical fuel and supplies to run the U.S. McMurdo and South Pole stations throughout the coming year.據《洛杉磯時報》報道，美國海岸警衛隊應澳大利亞海事安全局請求，派出“北極星號”破冰船前往救援被困南極的中俄船隻。

澳大利亞海事安全局救援協調中心說，“北極星號”需要大約7天才能抵達兩艘中俄船隻被困的南極“聯邦灣”。

獲救的澳大利亞醫生安德魯5日說，獲救者每個人手寫的感謝信掃描後傳真給了“雪龍”號船長和中國相關部門，他們希望“北極星”儘快抵達，營救中俄船隻。

美國海岸警衛隊太平洋區司令保羅·祖昆福特說：“海上生命安全是我們最高任務，這就是爲什麼我們正

協助爲被困中俄船隻開闢航道的原因。在這個地球上最遙遠、自然環境最殘酷的地方，我們隨時準備施以援手。”

祖昆福特說，俄羅斯“紹卡利斯基院士號”科考船載有52名被困的科學家和遊客，中國“雪龍號”破冰船上2日已通過直升機將他們轉移至澳大利亞“南極光號”破冰船，預計1月中旬“南極光號”會將他們送往塔斯馬尼亞島，成功施救後的“雪龍號”隨後也被厚冰所困。目前，俄科考船上還有22名船組人員堅守在船上待援，該船沒有沉沒危險，補給足可持續數週。

“雪龍號”上一名記者4日稱，頭天晚上突然出現的一座冰山阻擋了“雪龍號”的航道。該記者表示，船上101名人員都很安全，補給也十分充足。

122米的 “北極星號”是美國海岸警衛隊唯一一艘重型破冰船。在接受此次救援任務前，“北極星號”的主要任務是開闢一條運輸通道，爲未來一年美國麥克默多站運輸關鍵燃料和物資。麥克默多站由美國國家科學基金會（NSF）負責管理，是南極和南冰洋地區最大的後勤基地。