Ship with 52 rescued Akademik Shokalskiy climate scientists and tourists is only able to make 1/4 knot (0.29 mph) in heavy ice towards open water. Latest webcam views show all ice all around the ship and no open water ahead.
More webcam views follow.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority Press release: 8.00am AEDT: 3rd January 2014
Antarctica rescue operation now complete
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) can confirm that the rescue operation from the Akademik Shokalskiy in Antarctica has been completed.
RCC Australia was notified at 6.15pm AEDT yesterday evening that the first group of 12 passengers had boarded the helicopter from the Xue Long at around 6pm AEDT. RCC Australia was then notified at 7.30pm AEST that the first 12 passengers had arrived at the Aurora Australis.
Five flights were conducted to take the passengers to the Aurora Australis over a distance of about 14 nautical miles. Four flights were undertaken with 12 people each flight, and the fifth flight rescued four passengers. The helicopter landed on an ice floe adjacent to the Aurora Australis.
At 10.05pm AEDT, AMSA was advised that all 52 passengers had been safely rescued and were on board the Aurora Australis.
Aurora Australis advised AMSA that helicopter operations had been completed at about 10.45pm AEDT and all passengers, luggage and equipment had been transferred.
The Aurora Australis will now start heading towards open water. The ship is currently travelling at a quarter knot in heavy ice towards open water. It will take until late evening to reach open water.
The Aurora Australis will then head towards the Casey base to complete a resupply before heading to Australia. The Aurora Australis is not expected to arrive in Australia until mid-January.
All 22 crew members of the Akademik Shokalskiy remain with the vessel.
RCC Australia has overall coordination of the incident as it is in Australia’s search and rescue region and has regular contact with the vessels involved.
The search and rescue operation commenced on Christmas morning AEDT after the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in the United Kingdom received a distress message via satellite from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. The distress message and subsequent coordination of the incident was passed to RCC Australia, who is the responsible search and rescue authority for this area.
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Other camera views.
Port Camera:
![A140022300C[1]](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/a140022300c1.jpg?quality=83)
Stern camera:
![A140022300B[1]](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/a140022300b1.jpg?quality=83)
Source: http://www.antarctica.gov.au/webcams/aurora
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What happens to all the equipment that was left on the ship?
Thank you Doug. Russians certainly understand/respect ice and might find their way to Mawson station? I’ve no doubt these scientists/tourists/journalists have pushed the patience of each crew beyond reason. Soon it might look like a game of ‘hot potato.’
The National Post chimes in:
“Terence Corcoran: Science of climate change not on the same course as reality”
http://opinion.financialpost.com/2014/01/02/terence-corcoran-science-of-climate-change-not-on-the-same-course-as-reality/
“The key to success when stuck on a giant floe of irony is to pretend it doesn’t exist, which is exactly the trick performed by Prof. Chris Turney, leader of the global warming science expedition that was rescued Thursday by a Chinese icebreaker off the coast of Antarctica.”
Well said! 🙂
Aussie MSM have been predicting record heat all week, & have failed to report when records weren’t broken, while Murdoch’s Sky Weather Channel has had constant programming since dawn titled “RECORD HEATWAVE” which goes til 9pm tonite, when it changes to detailed analysis of SEVERE WEATHER in this SEVERE WEATHER SEASON!
3 Jan: ABC: 2013 was hottest year on record in Australia, Bureau of Meteorology says
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-03/2013-was-the-hottest-year-on-record-for-australia/5183040
BOM: Annual climate statement 2013
Accessing Australia’s climate change datasets
The Bureau is responsible for collecting, managing and safeguarding Australia’s climate archive. Several homogenised datasets have been developed from this archive to identify, monitor and attribute changes in the Australian climate.
This statement has been prepared using the homogenised Australian temperature dataset, ACORN-SAT and high-quality rainfall data
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/2013/
They had no clue. It was to be a fun cruise with fame and glory for all. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/15-million-australian-expedition-to-antarctica/5116158
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2013/s3899674.htm
Overall Antarctic ice extent is still declining, according to WUWT reference pages. So how was it that these people managed to choose one of the few places where ice is expanding? I wonder what it was they did to offend Gaia?
PaulH says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:40 pm
The National Post chimes in:
—-
I wonder if MSM journalists are starting to read WUWT for their articles?
pat says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:45 pm
“The Bureau is responsible for collecting, managing and safeguarding Australia’s climate archive. Several homogenised datasets have been developed from this archive to identify, monitor and attribute changes in the Australian climate.”
Pat you are aware, of course, that the homogenisation of temperature data is in the hands of folks who fervently believe in CAGW. It will be a wonder if they don’t succeed in predicting record temperatures. That is what they are there for!
Gail Combs says:
January 2, 2014 at 4:53 pm
Neo says: @ur momisugly January 2, 2014 at 4:10 pm
Has anyone ever considered the damage to the sea ice done by these “ice breakers” ?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yes, I have often wondered just how much of the decrease in Arctic sea ice is due to the increased traffic of the “ice breakers”
_________________
I remember reading an argument that a cause of the cold NH winters during WWII (or was it just the winter of ’44) was the churning up of the ice cover by war ships. This tended to exposed the underlying water to the atmosphere. The analogy was with stirring up your bowl of soup to cool it down.
CNN coverage is now clearly stating that there was climate research involved and that Turney was a climate researcher.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/02/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2
3 Jan: ABC: Your say: BOM says 2013 was Australia’s hottest year on record
COMMENT BY Craig-Lee Smith: But you wouldn’t have known it in Victoria and Tasmania, we had the coldest Spring on record, and judging by the temperatures we are going to get this week, it will be the coldest and dreariest January on record.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-03/your-say3a-weather-bureau-says-2013-was-australia27s-hottest-/5183536
2013 in South-East Queensland was mild…we were still wearing sweaters in early Summer & it’s 35 degrees today at midday, not the 40 degrees predicted, tho perhaps it will go up further.
With record ice in Antarctic waters (and it does look like powder snow on the ice) and the refreeze merely 6 weeks away if not earlier (less time than the length of the trip these guys made), I think the Academik and its crew is at considerable risk of never getting out of there afloat.
cynical_scientist says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:10 pm
If refresh doesn’t work try clearing cache..
Mother Nature can be a right bitch sometimes.
These visiting journalists and tourists will never forget this lesson. Many will turn into closet sceptics or head off into the kitchen any time someone mentions Antarctic thermal meltdown.
——————————————————————————————————
Jimbo, no!
This is yet again real evidence of warming creating unprecedented winds packing the sea ice. Mawson did not experience it a hundred years ago so it must be due to warming on a grand scale.
Bit like that other Oz clown Karoly saying that warming had not stopped as CO2 was holding the T up as we were now on a down part of the T cycle just like previous down cycles. He just could not bring himself to admit that if there is a natural down component of a cycle then there must also be a natural up part of such cycles and perhaps CO2 was irrelevant.
Oz excels and punches above its weight in many fields. We certainly have our share in this climate field with the likes of another palentologist/climate komissar flim, flam Flannery, his buddy Karoly, Lew of Lewandowsky fame (thankfully this tax burden departed our shores), his mate Cook of SKS and many more including the chief scientist who could not tell us what effect any CO2 abatement would have and who instead of taking the lead in asking the hard questions stated that, whilst questioning was good in science, we should have done that twenty years ago.
Right you are, sir; climatology by fiat science and the world stood still. Hail Caesar! I learned a new word the other day; subreption – it colours every aspect of this pitiful climate saga and the imposters posing as scientists.
bet tomorrow we hear they are ice bound.
need the russian nuke ice breakers there.
Louis says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Overall Antarctic ice extent is still declining, according to WUWT reference pages. So how was it that these people managed to choose one of the few places where ice is expanding? I wonder what it was they did to offend Gaia?
Actually, according to the WUWT sea ice page, Antarctic sea ice has generally been above average for the past 10 years. See for yourself:
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/seaice.anomaly.antarctic.png
Those idiots were idiots because they believed the CAGW hype and expected the ice to be melting. They weren’t just unlucky to have chosen the rare spot where ice was expanding. The above-average ice is found all over Antarctica. See:
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_bm_extent_hires.png
There is the true believers, the deniers, and now an icebreaker between them, come on mates can’t we just get along and find watts wrong
Gary Pearse –
yes, i have learned what to be wary of in these reports…from visiting with the good people on WUWT, JoanneNova, Bishop Hill, etc.
I guess the Aussie “climate scientists” have been proven right after all. The climate IS changing— to a very cold one, indeed.
“The times, they are a’changin'”
I’m a bit confused about the “emergency”. If 22 crew members can wait it out, why can’t they all?
Did their inconvenience justify all that expense and risk?
clipe 6:03PM
The images are updating, if you read Bill Illis’ post at 4:14PM:
The image will not refresh, you have to edit the jpg file name the way Bill explains.
Why do I wish to see the Aurora Australis get stuck in the ice and need another passenger transfer? LOL
Thanks for that, had the same problem. I was at 349mb towards my 350mb limit, clearing the cache worked.
What?!
“The ship is currently travelling at a quarter knot in heavy ice towards ‘open water.’ It will take until late evening to reach open water.”
“The Aurora Australis will then head towards the “Casey base !”
This is MADNESS. First, to get to “open water” they have to cut perpendicular to the surface winds! then turn left parallel to the surface winds (parallel, yes with the flow) and then try to cut the pack ice which is moving with the wind flow direction at a small angle! Yet AGAIN what FOOLS!
Casey Station is on the Antarctic coast! in now dense pack ice!
These fools are trying their hardest to die! without doubt in spite of all the other efforts and Multi-Million dollars, choose your favorite currency, thrown at them to help them escape and live.
What a “Climate Science Phenomenal waste!”