Aurora Australis aground in Antarctica
Ship full of researchers remains aground at Mawson research station in blizzard conditionsThe 95m, 8100t, 27-year-old Aurora Australis broke free of its mooring lines at 3:15pm AEDT yesterday (09:15am Mawson time, February 24) during a blizzard. The ship remains aground at West Arm in Horseshoe Harbour and mitigation plans are being considered in the event of any fuel spill.
A total of 68 expeditioners and crew are on board the P&O owned ship and, from all reports, they all remain safe and well.
The ship remains watertight. Crew are closely monitoring the hull from inside the ship, however, current blizzard conditions are hampering a full assessment of the ship.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is working closely with P&O Maritime Services, owners of the Aurora Australis, to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew as a priority.
When the weather conditions allow, expeditioners will be transferred to Mawson research station. Winds must drop below 55km/h before any transfer takes place and the current blizzard conditions are forecast to ease overnight (Thursday, 25 February).
As a precaution, mitigation plans are being considered in the event of any fuel spill. The ship remains watertight at this time.
The capacity of the ship to continue all of the current voyage remains unknown, however, the AAD has a range of aviation and shipping contingency plans in development to achieve the voyage objectives by other means.
The Aurora Australis departed Hobart on January 11, 2016 and has been undertaking marine science around the Kerguelen Plateau region. It arrived at Mawson for resupply on Saturday (February 20, 2016) and was due to depart Mawson research station in the coming days when it was to head to Davis research station to collect a number of expeditioners before returning to Australia between March 15 and 23.
There are more and more ships and maritime traffic in Antarctica these days, leading to recent codes of practice and concerns about the influx of researchers flocking to the area, ironically to monitor climate change, not to mention the hordes of bucket-list travellers inspired by Happy Feet. News sourced at www.antarctica.gov.au/news.
Pic credit: Wendy Pyper; David Barringhaus/Australian Antarctic Division; Feral Arts.
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