(PCM) A group of scientists, as well as, some members of the general public have been trapped in heavy ice just off the coast of Antarctica. Their ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, was retracing the footsteps of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911 for research purposes.
The captain of the ship issued a distress call on Christmas morning and three nearby ice breaker ships have been notified of the situation and are on their way to issue assistance. According to the captain, the ship is in no real danger, they are just in heavy ice and need assistance to break free. Apparently, they are only about two miles away from open water.
The captain goes on to say that everyone aboard the ship is in good spirits and everyone has been continually updated on the progress of freeing up the ship as information comes. The scientific research that was taking place on the ship has also continued and the results are said to be looking incredibly exciting.
We just think it is totally ironic that a ship that sets out to study the dangers of global warming and the melting ice caps ends ups getting stuck in a heavy amount of ice, which they must then break up themselves to become free. The ship is said to be rescued by the Chinese ice breaking ship, The Snow Dragon, sometime this weekend.