MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentine icebreaker and German supply ship ready to break out of Antarctic ice
The captains of the Argentine icebreaker ARA Admiral Irizar and the German polar supply ship Magdalena Oldendorff met on the Irizar today to put the finishing touches to a plan to free the stranded German vessel trapped in the ice pack off the Antarctic coast since June 11.
The news was reported by the commander of the rescue operation speaking by satellite phone to a press conference held at Navy headquarters. Over a lunch chaired by the head of the Argentine Navy's chief of Antarctic operations, Captain Ruben Benmuyal, attended by the skippers of the Irizar, Captain Hector Tavecchia, and Ewald Brun of the Oldendorff, as well as the representative of the owners of the vessel, the final details of the plan to get the stranded back to open waters was discussed. Throughout the day some 600.000 litres of gas oil and 60 tons of food were also transhipped to the German vessel.
According to Benmuyal, overall commander of the rescue operation codenamed Southern Cross, the strategy is to once again use the Irizar's two Sea King helicopters to find a path through the 400 miles of ice separating the Oldendorff from waters where it can sail unaided by the icebreaker.
With only four hours of twilight, temperatures of minus 40º C and continuous gale force winds, the decision to break out must be taken as soon as is techically possible as the unpredictable Antarctic winter weather continues to worsen day by day.
The Irizar is currently lying alongside the Oldendorff after a gruelling 4.800 mile rush from Buenos Aires to aid the stranded German vessel caught in the rapidly expanding ice on June 11 as it sailed towards South Africa after resupplying Russian bases on Antarctica.
Captain Tavecchia explained that the Irizar had reached the snow-covered Oldendorff after plotting a course by using its helicopters to determine where the ice was thinner. Once a safe course had been determined the Irizar proceeded to break through 150 miles of heavy ice of up to three meters thick and criss-crossed with thicker joints between floes of up to six metres thick reaching the German polar supply vessel on Wednesday.
The Irizar can smash a path through ice of up to three meters thickness without it affecting its normal cruising speed, but anything thicker has to be rammed, a process which is time consuming.
According to Benmuyal the plan is to attempt to sail in convoy formation with the Irizar opening a path for the Oldendorff in its wake. Should this technique fail to dislodge the German vessel the second alternative is to take the vessel in tow, a very slow and tortuous process that could prove impossible if the weather suddenly worsens for any prolonged period of time.
While the planners of this unprecedented rescue operation were duly relieved that the Irizar had been able to reach the German vessel, the problems are far from being over.
According to the satellite information collected from Argentine, US, Russian, South African and European sources the vessels are still face a daunting 400 mile voyage before reaching the safety of open seas. Initially the convoy will have to make a 150 to 200 mile voyage through four to six metre thick perennial Antarctic pack ice before reaching a second area of up 200 miles of ice floes and Antarctic sea-ice packs.
Nicholas Tozer ? Buenos Aires
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