Conditions “more formidable than expected, with heavy snow and large icebergs.”
After traveling several hundred nautical miles through heavy ice, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star on Saturday managed to reach the Antarctic Chieftain.
In this Jan. 26, 2015 photo, the Polar Star opens a channel through the ice to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
The 207-foot Australian fishing boat with 26 people aboard became stuck in the ice near Antarctica on Wednesday Feb. 11, 2015.
Polar Star Commanding Officer Capt. Matthew Walker said in a statement that the conditions were more formidable than expected, with heavy snow and large icebergs.
“We are on scene and progressing well with the rescue,” he said.