6.30am AEDT Sunday 05 January 2014
US Coast Guard ice breaker to assist ships beset in ice in Antarctica
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) has requested the US Coast Guard’s Polar Star icebreaker to assist the vessels MV Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long which are beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay.
The US Coast Guard has accepted this request and will make Polar Star available to assist.
The Polar Star has been en route to Antarctica since 3 December, 2013 – weeks prior to the MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay. The intended mission of the Polar Star is to clear a navigable shipping channel in McMurdo Sound to the National Science Foundation’s Scientific Research Station. Resupply ships use the channel to bring food, fuel and other goods to the station. The Polar Star will go on to undertake its mission once the search and rescue incident is resolved.
RCC Australia identified the Polar Star as a vessel capable of assisting the beset vessels following MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice overnight on 24 December, 2013. RCC Australia has been in discussion with the US Coast Guard this week to ascertain if the Polar Star was able to assist once it reaches Antarctica.
The request for the Polar Star to assist the beset vessels was made by RCC Australia to the US Coast Guard on 3 January, 2014. The US Coast Guard officially accepted this request and released the Polar Star to RCC Australia for search and rescue tasking at 8.30am on 4 January, 2014.
The Polar Star will leave Sydney today after taking on supplies prior to its voyage to Antarctica.
It is anticipated it will take approximately seven (7) days for the Polar Star to reach Commonwealth Bay, dependent on weather and ice conditions.
At 122 metres, the Polar Star is one of the largest ships in the US Coast Guard fleet. It has a range of 16,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. The Polar Star has a crew of 140 people.
The Polar Star is able to continuously break ice up to 1.8 metres (6ft) while travelling at three (3) knots and can break ice over six (21ft) metres thick.
RCC Australia will be in regular contact with the relevant US Coast Guard RCC at Alameda, California, and the Captain of the Polar Star during its journey to Antarctica.
Media Enquiries: 1300 624 633
www.amsa.gov.au/media
Related:
The ‘Clitanic’ Hot Sheet – News from the #SpiritofMawson fiasco
“The Polar Star is able to continuously break ice up to 1.8 metres (6ft) while travelling at three (3) knots and can break ice over six (21ft) metres thick.”
Now that is some impressive specs. Good luck and here is hoping that the crews on AS & XL all fare well for the next week.
Oh joy – now American taxpayers get whacked as well.
Blitherin’ fools!
Cue three hot choruses of, “The American Patrol”. I wonder if the Aussies will take the hint and acquire an ice-breaker man enough for the job? Apparently the ice-island being blamed for the pack-ice has been skulking around the coast since 1987-ish. That’s a long time unmelted in a supposedly warming Antarctic.
What will that add to the cost for a publicity stunt gone bad? Isn’t there a better use for taxpayer money than blowing it on hot-dogging scientists and journalists? They are hoist on their own petard.
What is the “Polar Stars” carbon footprint?
The Grauniad is not going to like this.
I previously posted this You Tube video over at SDA and someone posted it here a few days ago.
It is even more germane (and more funny) today. I do not know how to embed a You Tube video.
Corb Lund singing The Truck Got Stuck ☺ Silly, but fun.
http://youtu.be/pDY6bWT5oTM
So who is Guarding the Coast ?.
grumpyoldmanuk says at January 4, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Interesting. Do you have a reference or a that?
It was simply a matter of time before this whole global warming debacle ended up costing US Taxpayers.
Correction:
Do you have a reference or a link for that?
Sorry. Stubby finger syndrome.
Let’s not forget that the original bunch who got stuck were “Global Warming” nut jobs. Why now just let then sit there until “global warming” melts their stupid asses out of there?
All this expense caused by Global Warming fanatics that cannot accept their theories were based on faked data.
No doubt the tax payers of several nations are going to be stuck with the soaring cost of this fiasco. Beyond the direct costs, I fancy that I can hear the the anticipatory rubbing together of the hands of many legal eagles.
@Heraldo Ortega Nobody, Doncha know the US only has one ship! OMG!!!!!111
Does the Polar Star have deck guns? (A polar-class ice breaker doing intercept runs or picket duty along the coast? Riiiiight …)
.
Let Darwin rescue them.
Damn that Global Warming!
Canada’s ice breakers are overwhelmed working the heavy east coast ice – I have friends stranded for a week unable to get home due to ice and these morons tie up three ice breakers for a global warming lark? Plus the Russian ship and crew. Now the American taxpayers have to set up to the plate for those narcissists? This has passed being funny – I hope those idiots are fire, belittled, and roundly castigated for their arrogance. I have no sympathy for those fools.
Didn’t see it mentioned in the story, but it’s worth pointing out…
The ship stuck in the ice was on a “global warming” research mission.
I wonder what they found.
It is an academic mission to research global warming caused by man. Ahem… No comment that these recognized experts in anthropomorphism failed to correctly predict the ice immediately in their future, while they attempt to predict the ice quantity years out in front of them.
Will the media ever challenge these assertinions that the sky is falling, or is it just too much fun freaking people out that they will be the last persons ever to glimpse the natural beauty of the earth before it descends into chaos and pain.
The poor children will never know snow or ice and the poor polar bears will never be able to float around on chunks… Blah blah blah… There is more “change” than your “philosophy has ever dreamt of Horatio, get used to it.
And let’s not forget it’s still summertime down there…
Love the irony…..And will the NYT and NBC scream about the cost to taxpayers to save the global warmists in their failed attempt to send a report substantiating their (obviously false) claims about man made global warming melting the ice caps? Somehow I doubt it.
So a rescue ship for the rescue ship for the rescue ship. We could just leave them in the hopes that Global Warming saves them, but that would be like saying “I do believe in fairies, I do believe in fairies.
I confess to ignorance when it comes to breaking up ice however couldn’t it be either bombed or dynamited?
I knew it was to good to be true: that the ChiComs were going to foot the bill for rescuing these global warming idiots aboard this chartered ship. Yep, now the US taxpayer is going to get to foot the bill
This has been a major embarrassment for the climate cultists. And 2014 was supposed to be Obama’s big year for climate decrees. They have to get those ships out and stop the bleeding. I’m guessing that they will also “confirm” that the ice that trapped the ships was caused by global warming.
Note that the ice measurement
exceeds the US ship’s thickness rating.
I’m fine with Polar Star freeing the trapped ships. It was headed there anyway, and it’s one of those international-y neighborish things we tend to do.
If the Chris(tmas) Turkey Cult™ were still there, I’d say let ’em sit until the primary resupply mission is done.
_Jim says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:06 pm
(A polar-class ice breaker doing intercept runs or picket duty along the coast? …)
+++++++
With NASA’s aim now being to help the Muslims feel proud of themselves and Obama feting the MB for their contribution to freedom & progress, we expect EXACTLY that.
Yet another article on this that fails to mention that the mission was Global Warming! As for GLobal Warming “finally costing US taxpayers (per a comment), we have given over $7.5 BILLION to foreign governments to “fight global warming”!!! And this is just the start: Sec St Kerry is putting together a fund of $100 billion for other countries to tap into!!!
http://www.earthweek.com/2010/ew100305/ew100305c.html
Aw yes summertime in Antarctica.
If I may re-post a comment from earlier thread.
This whole incident spotlights the need for the U.S. to build more polar-class icebreakers. Whether for research, supply, or national security interests, or merely to conduct search and rescue operations, it would seem there is a need for more of these ships.
Stranded Vessel in Antarctica Illustrates Need for New U.S. Icebreaker Policy
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/12/31/stranded-vessel-antarctica-illustrates-need-new-u-s-icebreaker-policy/
The author, Brian Slattery, a foreign policy research assistant, has been calling for a strengthened U.S. coast guard presence in the arctic in order to “catch up with the other Arctic nations and field a presence that can legitimately protect U.S. sovereignty in the region.”
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/strengthen-the-us-coast-guard-in-the-arctic
The USCGC Polar Star and its twin the Polar Sea are ostensibly “able to break through ice up to 21 feet (6 m) thick and steam continuously through 6 feet (1.8 m) of ice at 3 knots (6 km/h),” (Wikipedia). It’s about 400 feet long and 80 feet wide, and it is able to accommodate two helicopters. These two ships are among the largest of U.S. coast guard ships, and along with a smaller ship, “The Healy”, apparently comprise the entire fleet of polar-capable U.S. icebreakers. The two former ships were built in the ’70′s, and are nearing the end of their natural service lives.
The distinction in vessel construction, and role of sovereign naval powers in the polar regions is certainly one of the more fascinating aspects of this story. Even though chances of armed conflict in the polar regions seems unlikely, it would be interesting to know more about the role these interesting ships play in maintaining national security and a balance of powers in these areas.
Interesting, too, the U.S. senators urging new shipbuilding.
In November 2013 four Senators proposed an amendment to the 2014 Defense Appropriations Act authorizing the construction of four new Polar class vessels, at a cost of $850 million each.[8][9][10] The four Senators sponsoring the amendment were Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, from Washington, and Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, from Alaska. According to the Seattle Times the chances that the amendment will survive into the bill, as passed, are slim.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar-class_icebreaker
on review, the Coast Guard ship can handle that thickness. So much for doing math in my head.
Russian Ice Breaker is much bigger than the USCG’s.Plus why the hell do we have to pay for this??
The idiots who started this trouble, were indeed on a mission, to show the devastation caused by….you guessed it, global warming. Instead, they found out something much more interesting, and relevant to our society. Global warming has NOT destroyed the ice at the poles, and CO2, has not had the effect on climate, that they thought it would. There…..the truth is out now. What on earth will they come out with, to keep this little tidbit of information, from becoming known worldwide? Those eco-nuts won’t give up easily. Agenda 21 is driving them on.
A bunch of global warming loonies who went to see the “melting” ice, against all rationality (oh, I forgot, the media’s hiding the inconvenient facts of this voyage) trapped in their own stupidity. I resent having to pay for their rescue. Send the bill to AlGore!
So maybe we could charge the Chinese about 30 Trillion to free their Ice Breaker Boat,
I was in Operation Deep Freeze in the early 60’s.My Ice breaker (USCGC Eastwind) was half the size and NEVER got stuck in 20 years of operating in the Antarctic..
M Courtney says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:02 pm
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-antarctic-magazine/2006-2010/issue-18-2010/glaciology/mertz-glacier-tongue-unhinged-by-giant-iceberg
Antarctica is not melting. The EAIS quit retreating over 3000 years ago.
The highest T ever recorded in Antarctica was in 1974. Most of the continent never gets above freezing, but the Peninsula has reached 59 F in the past.
Some times it is just too easy. I particularly liked the comment by Warren Dexter, who pondered about the AGW people not being able to predict ice that exists now. And , to Clive – Thank You Thank You Thank You. Lastly, a hat tip to someone on another article comment thread who introduced (at least to me) the term – applicable to the media, of whom, 98% omitted the Global Warming Cult aspect of this disaster – PRESSTITUTES. Gotta love.
This entire episode stinks. How hard is it to get an up-to-date satellite photo showing ICE where they were intending to go to point out there was no ice???How hard is it (just go out on the web and search?) to find the stills and movie footage of the original expedition showing NO ICE?
Everyone involved in setting this trip up should be held personally responsible for its cost and the cost of their rescue. Any “academic” involved should lose their job. AND they should be required to make an educational video to illustrate their cynical, dishonest bastardization of science.
Canada at one time had a plan to build serious icebreakers, but somehow became convinced that the Arctic would be largely ice free in a few decades, and so ordered ‘slush breakers’ instead.
We need an elaborate Global Warming Interview of Ron Burgundy helicoptering in to interview the global warming scientists on deck of their ice bound ship which is surrounded by other ice bound rescue ships.
THE ONLY PERSON MISSING FROM THIS HOT DOG GLOBAL WARMING MISSION IS AL GORE.
Yay!!!! The US is actually doing something good for our friends and allies. This is what we should be doing…not tapping Merkel’s cell, or sending drones out to kill innocents or taking out leaders of crappy countries so we can run our weapons through their cities.
Yay for the Coast Guard!!!
What a tremendous waste all around. The American taxpayer gets screwwwwed both for the rescue cost and for the global warming that these progressive “scientists” are preaching. The irony of this situation is wonderful.
There does not seem to be a lot of tools left in the tool box. As mentioned on WUWT in recent weeks, U.S. ice breaking capability is old, and limited in numbers. The only serviceable polar capable icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star, is fresh off a three year overhaul to extend it’s useful life for perhaps ten years. It’s sister ship, the decommissioned USCGC Polar Sea, was recently saved from scrapping, but would need an even more extensive overhaul than Polar Star completed to return to service. Recent proposals to fund and build three new polar capable icebreakers for the USCG are ten years too late.
So, now it is the U.S. researchers turn to endure delays in resupply and personnel rotation that will play havoc with their schedules. Hopefully, that is all they contend with, just a delay, and the coasties make quick work of this. My wife has been very patient (and not very interested) these past ten days as I moved our Cram’s world globe out of the corner and flipped it upside down to track this circus unfolding in Antarctica. (Furniture location is her purview, not mine.) After the evacuation of the AS, I mentioned that the XL was itself stuck, also. Her reply, “This is not going to end well.”
With increased Antarctic tourism, maybe an international icebreaker patrol should be mounted, financed with insurance funds. Chile, Argentina, the UK (Falklands & S. Georgia), South Africa, Australia & New Zealand might vie for basing contracts. Global cooling is underway, after all.
Go, Coasties!
(Thanks, Uncle Larry and cousin Ted!)
Speaking for this American taxpayer: We are so glad to be able to go to the rescue of our fellow human beings that we do not count the cost. It’s just part of being a good neighbor.
As for those whose recklessness or, at least, negligence, caused this fiasco, however…. watch out. America has more lawyers per capita than anywhere else in the world… . And a lot of them are currently very hungry for work. Bwah, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaaaaaaa!
I don’t know why you are all so unsympathetic. It was an easy mistake to make. 🙂
http://www.winstoneball.plus.com/IMAGES/No%20Ice.jpg
Well, Mr. Harlani, welcome back, you’ve been missed. Glad to see that you are okay. Hope all is well. Janice
Is there any chance that we could demand that the cost of sending the Polar Star down there be taken out of the EPA’s budget? If the EPA’s shenanigans in support of the CAGW meme are going to cost us all money in “skyrocketing” utility bills, well, shouldn’t any and all (expletive deleted) expeditions in support of that meme cost the EPA money. A few layoffs should pay for it. What about the universities? A few layoffs there too, could help pick up the tab. And, as far as offsetting the fuel consumption (25,000 hp turbines slurp up the stuff), and thus carbon ‘pollution’ of the Polar Star, well, we could withhold a likewise quantity of fuel from Air Force 1.
The Polar Star was already enroute to the Ross Sea for “Operation Deepfreeze”., the annual resupply of McMuardo base. The ship had just pulled into Sydney for a 4 day layover which ended up as 1 day. The US Coast Guard only has 2 icebreakers capable of breaking polar ice. The Polar Star and USCCG Healy which is in Seattle after [spending] most of the Summer & Fall in the Arctic.
The US [government] needs more Arctic icebreakers as they only have 2 right now and the Polar Star just came out of the yards after being rebuilt.
Perhaps Mr Putin could swim over and free the ship? Sacasm vs reality…..it takes real strength and conviction to move humanity forward in a positive manner…not showmanship……too much on our continent too!!
Polar Star was on her way past Commonwealth Bay anyway, so the cost is a tiny part of her months long mission.
A crew of 140 !? That’s going to run the rescue bill up a bit.
Prof Turkey’s going to need to sell a lot of activated carbon granules and ‘bio-oil’ to pay this one.
Sadly he’s just gone on record as saying it’s not climate change. He should have said it was and put in a claim for UN Green Fund payola.
Milodonharlani @ 1:33 pm, with increased Antarctic tourism, let the companies doing the touring pay for it.
Y’all be careful now. Those global warming fellas have proven to be pretty bad luck.
M.Courtney @ 1.02. The story was on the blog, ” Not a Lot of People know About That” posted today. A follower of the blog sent in the original story which made the MSM plus supporting data.
They set out to save the planet- clearly, the planet had other ideas. Now this ship of dimwits and tourists needs rescued twice.
Leave them there till the ice melts this summer!
great picture but your link is broken — links with imbedded spaces do not fare well in posts the parser thinks the end of the link is the imbedded space.
Link should be : “http://www.winstoneball.plus.com/IMAGES/No%20Ice.jpg”
[Changed. Mod]
So I read through the comments and some I had to laugh at…Polar Class Icebreakers are armed with .50 caliber machine guns, M-16s, .40 caliber Sig Sauer Pistols and Remington 870 Shotguns. The National Science Foundation funds the Antarctic research trips called Deepfreeze. The Coast Guard currently has 3 Polar Icebreakers in inventory – POLAR STAR, POLAR SEA and HEALY. POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA are considered heavy icebreakers and are the only US Icebreakers capable of breaking Antarctic Ice. HEALY is a medium icebreaker and is intended for service in the Arctic. At once point in the Coast Guard’s history, the icebreakers in service were GLACIER, BURTON ISLAND, EDISTO, SOUTHWIND, WESTWIND, EASTWIND, NORTHWIND, all of these have been decomissioned, All of these icebreakers used to belong to the US Navy and were heavily armed until transferred to the US Coast Guard because the mission for these ships changed. POLAR SEA is currently in caretaker status and not in service. Over the last 3 years the Coast Guard has spent in excess of $90 million to get POLAR STAR operational because prior to that, it had been in caretaker status since 2006. It’s last Antarctic trip was a Search and Rescue to break a Russian Icebreaker out of an ice floe because of a mechanical failure. POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA are the world’s most powerful NON-NUCLEAR icebreakers. The Russians have nuclear icebreakers that are not permitted in the Antarctic due to International agreements…. I used to be stationed on POLAR STAR – during my Coast Guard career
So the world comes to an end every time a field of ice shows a crack in it. But ships can ram away with impunity amid the deafening silence from the climate science community. Got it.
I have a name for any unseasonably cold temps: Algre (pron: AL-grr). It is in recognition to Al Gore and the amazing and insightful work he has done helping us understand the Truth of Global Warming. “An Inconvenient Truth” has helped us understand the truth about climate and it’s impact. This is that scumbag whorez like Al Gore will lie about the climate and do anything possible to impact our pocketbooks for their own benefit. Thanks for the insight, Al. I hope you enjoy the Algre we’re having!
Guess who is going to get stuck next?….Polar Star and the US taxpayer….
The activists went on their true believer mystical pilgrimage to Antarctica and the crews and vessels keep increasing of those that are paying the price for that belief system.
Combine all the expenses and place a lien on all the activists and their sponsors.
Don apparently there still a LOT of tools left in the toolbox. Boatloads!
For our liberal and progressive American correspondents demanding the US build (more) icebreakers; if it’s such a good idea then you pony up (ah, wonderful mixed metaphor – all hat and no pony) the bucks. It is not government’s place to compete with private investments nor support them – that is what has given US a broken narrowly robust economy now broken.
N. N. Taleb, Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder
Hey, the US started on the rescue at the end of December:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/31/wuwt-and-weatherbell-help-kusi-tv-with-a-weather-forecasting-request-from-ice-trapped-ship-in-antarctica-akademik-shokalskiy/
I don’t think Anthony Watts and Joe D’Aleo got enough news credit for this remarkable assistance provided to the Akademik Shokalskiy by them. To me, this is a much bigger story than it got credit for (a few minutes on KUSI TV). Here we have the evil arch-enemy of the of poor(?) criticized AGW scientists jumping into the breach when the ship called for help with weather forecasting in the vicinity of their ship. Someone with good media connections should get this story out now while the fiasco is still unfolding.
@Weeone – It is summer where they are. But those global warming idiots should be charged for their rescue.
The chinese ice breaker XL was not big enough, so they’ve now called on the american ship the XXL 😉
From the Seattle Times today:
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/01/seattle-based-icebreaker-heads-to-the-rescue-in-antarctic/?syndication=rss
Interesting tidbits of info:
A Chinese reporter aboard the Xue Long said late Saturday that an iceberg had appeared overnight and blocked the ship’s return route, but that the ship would again try to find a way out as early as Monday, according to The Associated Press.
The reporter, Zhang Jiansong, said the 101 crew members on board were safe and had plenty of supplies.
Now the news media is claiming it’s not ice causing the problem, but unstable water caused by global warming.
buckeyebubba says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Let’s not forget that the original bunch who got stuck were “Global Warming” nut jobs. Why now just let then sit there until “global warming” melts their stupid asses out of there?
++++++++++
I agree to some extent with the sentiment. I think we should get the Russian crew saved, and let the passengers wait it out. Let them study the melt until “local warming” sets them free.
Sure, we’ll rescue your sad pathetic arses, but first you have to come clean on the entire “Money Laundering Fiasco” known as Global Warming or now as you leftist brainiacks are calling it “Climate Change” If you tell the truth about this contrived scheme to steal monies from the West to give to those less fortunate then we will consider it. Also, you must be willing to pay via your Scientific “Grants” for the entire cost of the rescue mission! Do we have a deal me bucko’s?
A large vessel went to Antarctica on an ill-starred mission and got caught in the ice indefinitely.
Was it:
1. A ship containing global-warming researchers?
2. A flying saucer containing “The Thing”?
It’s utterly disgusting that these tree-hugger leftist liberal whacko’s on the antartic cruise ship aren’t footing the ENTIRE bill for their rescue. I don’t mean like the teeny tiny little bit like the Obama’s pay for their lavish safaris, I do mean the WHOLE bill!!! Why do I think it’s working responsible people who will get stuck with the tab??? Liberal twerps!!!
Australia is building a bigger ice breaker for an ice-free world:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/new-antarctic-icebreaker-on-its-way/story-fn3dxiwe-1226693614224
Russia is building a bigger ice breaker for an ice-free world:
http://rt.com/news/world-biggest-icebreaker-russia-275/
As noted above, America is as well:
http://tomnelson.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/question-if-obama-top-science-advisor.html
The global warming madness continues-
Australian ‘green’ politicians call for a carbon(sic) tax to stop hottest year ever http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/hottest-year-shows-need-for-carbon-tax-labor-greens-20140103-3096c.html WHILST said carbon(sic) tax is FAILS to STOP hottest year ever even as tax is in operation http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/senate-passes-carbon-tax-20111108-1n4p1.html . When will the carbon(sic) tax stop climate change?
The United States Coast Guard …..”Rescuing Idiots Since 1790″
Re. “six (21ft) metres thick”): 6 meters is 19.685 feet. Oh, I see the reason for the error. The Wikipedia article states it as “21 feet (6 meters),” which makes more sense.
USA!! USA!! USA!!
The rest of the story is told by Andrew Bolt here — the diversion of ships to this rescue which were using the window of summer to exchange crews, resupply Antarctic bases and bring in scientific equipment for legitimate ongoing research was derailed by these idiots — who for all their posturing about how prepared they were made some really obvious crappy choices in their trip planning.
Bill Turney and the tourists he scammed into this.
Only the US Coast Guard can break up global warming!
Just saw a tweet that Polar Star has left Sydney headed for Antarctica.
Tim Clancy (Ex-Coastie) says:
January 4, 2014 at 2:12 pm
The United States Coast Guard …..”Rescuing Idiots Since 1790″
Perfect!
The Global Warming con artists have seriously suggested that anyone that dares suggest that there isn’t Global Warming be deemed insane and involuntarily institutionalized. These people have the stench of totalitarianism all over them. Echoes of the brutal 20th century.
Oh so they radio in that they’re stuck in ice eh ? Reply, “You can’t possibly be stuck ! In fact there should be no ice where you are at all due to Global Warming. Either this is a prank or you are INSANE ! Over and out.”
So what do they call this? Climate changeback?
Janice Moore-
In the Navy, we used to rag on the Coasties.
Q. Why does the Coast Guard require all it’s personnel to be at least 6 feet tall?
A. So if the ship sinks, they can walk to shore.
There’s an old saying about the “Coasties”, “Ya’ gotta go out, but you don’t gotta come back.”
God bless the United States Coast Guard!
Send the bill to the Global Warmers.
Aussies get the russians stuck. Chinese go to help, they get stuck. Now USCG gets called in …. they get stuck . Russian nuke icebreakers get called in ….
Janice Moore says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Thanks. Have commented some under my real name, but mostly have been off line working in South America, in fact close to Antarctica.
RobertM says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:41 pm
Agree the companies should pay, through insurance, as I suggested. Or do as I do & fly rather than cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula in good WX only. I´m OK with leaving the rest of the continent (actually two under the ice) to the penguins & seals.
Interesting how most of the govt.\media complex will not mention that this was a “Global warming tour”. More ice than in 1912 and at the beginning of summer no less down south. These so called science pimps should be left there until the ice thaws.
How is ice even possible with all those Hiroshimas exploding every second in our ecosystem? 😎
The Polar Star was retired in 2006. Just refitted to extend useful life about 10 more years. The Polar Sea WAGB-11 is stil retired/out of service.(wikipedia)
These researchers got stuck searching for more bad global warming data that is proved to be wrong. I learned about global cooling in the 70s’ in school, then in the 80s’ when that proved wrong. The same people started the global warming research that became climate change when it proved wrong again for them.
This is about research grants, grants mean you don’t have to get a real job and do real work.
We need to stop spending $$ on grants and that is all grants from tax $$.
Send ’em a bill for the costs. If you ski out-of-bounds and need rescue, you will be billed for all charges and people involved in the rescue.
let them wait for the thaw.
This is starting to get stupid. Ah what the hell, I’m go’in in.
Well, despite the leftist media’s best efforts to hush up the fact that this entire episode is due to a bunch of Global Warming nut cases setting out to prove themselves right, which is not the way a true scientist is supposed to operate, it seems that there is a number of silver linings. The obvious is the Global Warming scam is getting exposed for what we knew all along. The globalist socialists of the UN behind this are clambering for stealing more tax dollars with even more apocalyptic lies, and this couldn’t have happened to a more fitting bunch. A rather expensive laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.
Finally, the man made CO2 cause of this phony global warming garbage is just that, garbage. They were allegedly following a route set back in 1913 by Antarctic explorers, but someone forgot to mention that they didn’t get stuck in the ice back in 1913. Strange how back in 1913 we didn’t have the industrialized world we have today that is supposedly the end all of end all doomsday worshipers nightmares. Then again, they didn’t have such CO2 issues back in the days of the dinosaur nor in medieval times either where science has shown the world was much warmer than it is today. Just don’t try to tell this to the Al Gore bunch. They’ll never understand.
In the mean time, the U.S. Coast Guard to the rescue! GO U.S.A.! :oD
I confess to ignorance when it comes to breaking up ice however couldn’t it be either bombed or dynamited?
First, ice six feet thick is enormously strong. You could drive a tank out onto it. Ice two or three feet thick is enormously strong. Now imagine yourself out in the middle of the ocean (if you’ve ever been on an ocean or the Great Lakes). No land visible in any direction. Flat water in all directions. Now transform that water all to ice 1 to 6 feet thick. Somewhere at or over the horizon there is a ship that is stuck — some 12 to 15 miles (of solid ice) away. You could, with enough dynamite or a powerful enough bomb, shatter the ice in front of you to create a hole packed with huge ice chunks, which will promptly refreeze into solid but chunky ice. However, to get your ship to the hole the hole has to be right at your ship’s bow, as otherwise you are back to breaking the ice, and it is a bad idea to set of dynamite right next to your hull. It would also take a LOT of dynamite — tons of it — to clear out even a single ship-wide mile.
So no, this is not feasible. Nor is setting a fire on top, or any other scheme. That’s why this situation is so serious. There is absolutely no guarantee that either of the stuck ships will be freed by natural melt before winter comes, and lots of bad things could happen first, not the least of which is that ice expands as it freezes and can literally crush the hull of a ship that is trapped in the freezing ocean. So that even if it DOES melt, you just sink. Or the crew could run out of fuel or have problems with their heating or electrical systems and run a serious risk of freezing to death in the Antarctic “summer”. Or a big storm could come up that did in fact break the ice — into millions of mini-icebergs, each of them massive enough to cave in a hull, being flung about by 10 meter high waves, with the ships unable to do anything to save themselves.
So far they’ve been lucky — the weather has been relatively benign, no real disasters have occurred, nobody has died. But the risk of death is still very high for everyone involved. An icebreaker is literally designed to power up over an ice pack and uses its weight and a specially reinforced bow to break the ice and thrust it up to the sides to create a “clear” channel for ships. If it can reach the stranded ships, then a few small charges can clear them of the ice that has them immediately trapped, and they can follow along behind the icebreaker as it clears a path for them to open water. This is the first vessel involved that sounds like it is truly “adequate” for the purpose of navigating dicey water with a high probability of a major freeze — the rest of them truly didn’t have any real business being there, from what I understand.
It is pretty silly to ignore the risk of the unexpected when navigating the ocean. It is enormously dangerous on a good day with nice weather, and one of the many risks is that one can NEVER predict how long nice weather itself will hold up — squalls can blow up out of nowhere in less than an hour. A good captain will not risk his ship or crew or cargo or passengers anywhere that he isn’t very confident in his ship’s ability to handle the unexpected. One wonders just how this one got himself trapped.
rgb
oldleprechaun says: January 4, 2014 at 2:21 pm “In the Navy, we used to rag on the Coasties.”
I live in a traditional home for USCG once the Lighthouse service. A neighbor passed a year or so ago at about 90 years old. She walked across the ice to her husbands duty station and there bore and reared five children, with only the assistant keeper and his wife.
Go Coast Guard “Semper Paratus” . The “Polar Star” just came from a major over haul this past Spring. She spent part of the summer in the Arctic and left Seattle 3 December 2013 bound toward McMurdo in the Antarctica. In ice breaking mode she develops 75000 horse power from 3 Pratt & Whitney turbines. The Polar Star has a sister ship the Polar Sea that with the same overhaul we would have 2 major ice breakers. Tell Washington to spend the money. Obama’s vacations this past year cost more than the over haul would. You will hear people talk about the Russian Nuke Ice Breakers. The only trouble is they can not leave the cold water of the Arctic. It has to do with the cooling systems for the Nuke Reactors.
I do not know the credibility of this website: http://what-when-how.com/military-weapons/coast-guard-ships-military-weapons/
It reports:
John
Had a similar scenario in ’72. A Japanese breaker was stuck in the ice south of South Africa, we were tasked to standby in case they needed us. (CGC Southwind; formery AGB 280 Atka. Our current location was Rio De Janerio. Spent 10 days or on Ipanema. Don’t remember if I met “the Girl” or not, but the sites were glorius.
This fiasco should have a good clever name that will stick, maybe become a new word in the oxford dictionary. Any poets out there? “The dispirit of Mawson”? Also Turney’s Journey for Climate Change ($). I don’t want this man to slip away from all this.
We should set up a contest to see who comes up with the best day and time this all ends. get out the calculators and figure in the knowns and unknowns. 🙂 I’ll hold the wagers….of course… 🙂
Best comment: MajorMike
The scientist’s ship will now be renamed ‘Gore’s Folly”
Also best comment: Buckeyebob’s.
Not only should the lead ship (the one with the “questionable scientists” and “questionable journalists”) be billed for the total U.S. Coast Guard costs but also for the entire “carbon footprint” that these misguided fools caused/created!
Might as well have some fun: Time to drill some cores and blast.
If I were Captain of the Polar Star I wouldn’t pick up the leftist scientists until they disavow their religion believe in AGW causing warming scam.. If it were up to the left we wouldn’t even have ice breakers as they would think we don’t need them.
I am fed up now being nice about this whole predicament so im gonna say the unspeakable. I hope the ice crushes the vessels, they sink and it truly becomes real to these absolute morons, cause as it stands just now there gonna come back spewing the same garbage.
Ha haw !!!, we have a New “” ICE JAIL “”” air drop MRE “””
Maybe God is just trying to kill them all.
Abandon Ship til Spring and save millions.
I hope the USCG sends a bill to these morons for their “rescue”. They’ll do it at the drop of a hat for small boat idiots that embark on “a voyage of a fool” that requires them to be rescued by the USCG. Let the morons eat the rescue costs.
The Russians get stuck, the Chinese and Australians can’t help?? Now the Americans have to show you how it’s done ?? God bless the USA, gitterdun.
97% of the news agencies are calling them explorers or tourists. When they are actually global warming nuts looking for signs of melting. To the globalist controlled media — we are waking up at a record pace. We won’t fall for your mind control anymore.
Robert Brown says:
January 4, 2014 at 2:32 pm
“A good captain will not risk his ship or crew or cargo or passengers anywhere that he isn’t very confident in his ship’s ability to handle the unexpected. One wonders just how this one got himself trapped.”
rgb: The captain wanted to go, as told by an Aussie MP (Green Party of course), but had to lose precious hours while a land party managed to sink one of their classy snowmobiles and delayed getting bck to the ship. Everyone else, including the BBC and Guardian journalists and photographer, were on message and not letting this critical information out, but the MP naively spilled the beans.
http://notrickszone.com/2014/01/02/delayed-departure-of-several-hours-likely-caused-doomed-vessel-to-lose-race-against-the-weather/
Great. I bunch of global warming idiots go out stupidly, get caught in ice they didn’t forsee because they don’t believe in ice, and now us taxpayers have to bail them out.
Some guys stuck in the ice waiting for the climate to change?
Well, no; the climate change guys got rescued and the crew got left behind to repair the ship and get it out, when the weather allows.
Of course, leaving a warmista behind would have been a crime, like leaving babies or old people out in the cold.
M Courtney
grumpyoldmanuk says at January 4, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Apparently the ice-island being blamed for the pack-ice has been skulking around the coast since 1987-ish.
Interesting. Do you have a reference or a that?
It was reported here.
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/turneys-iceberg-calved-in-1987/
God Bless the USCG..
WHEC Rush/Sherman. The USCG works hard all over the globe to help mariners in distress. I am proud to have been a COASTIE and a US sailor for 20+ years…
Again… God Bless the USA and USN
Would someone please have the U.S. or Canadian air forces drop napalm on this ice! Melt it and bust it up long enough for the ships to get out. Even regular bombs to break the ice.
– – – – – – – –
Gary Pearse,
TurneyGate
John
“I wonder if the Aussies will take the hint and acquire an ice-breaker man enough for the job?”
A new one is being built, but it is a bit difficult to persuade Australians that we really need ice-breakers. Ice is not much of a problem around the coasts of the mainland, or even Tasmania. And we frequently forget that we own a large chunk of Antarctica.
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-antarctica/who-owns-antarctica
(Not that everyone agrees.)
Robert Brown:
“lots of bad things could happen first, not the least of which is that ice expands as it freezes and can literally crush the hull of a ship that is trapped in the freezing ocean.”
That isn’t the problem. The dangerous thing is if the wind starts the icefield moving and forming compression ridges. The power of a few million tons of moving ice, even though it moves slowly can crush almost anything.
Also for all these amurrcan boys venting their spleen on “chicoms” and russians, please remember that the only reason the chinese are stuck in the icefield is that they went in there in order to rescue a bunch of western ecoloons with a helicopter that isn’t built for overwater operations, and that the russians are stuck there because they wouldn’t leave the some of the said ecoloons on the ice to face the consequences of their stupidity.
I think our next USCG Polar Icebreaker should be named the USCG Cutter Al Gore
A new Author is born; with a new book entitled Turney’s Torment.
It was only a few days ago that I read that they had been rescued and that it was all over. Ha! The debacle continues. When Mr. Turkey gets back he needs to undergo some heavy grilling (no pun intended.)
bwah….ha…ha….ha…..ha……ha…..Global Warming gone wild those wild and whacky brainiacs that just KNEW the polar bears were drowning from fatigue as the ice was melting away hey Al Whore that settled science you touted so much how’s it working our for yah…..
“following MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice overnight on 24 December, 2013.”
ERRrrr isn’t that a bit of fibbing, considering the MV Akademik Shokalskiy got stuck because Prof Chris(tmas) Turkey’s crew was late returning to the ship?
Sounds like a wee bit of a cover-up to me.
Those of us in the northern hemisphere, let us keep in mind that it is summertime down under! Imagine what it would be like if it were winter time! Incredible!
This story just gets more interesting. Thanks for the great coverage.
Oh my god… Global warming is real, just because there is one incidence of cold causing something to happen does not excuse evidence of hundreds of glaciers all over the world in massive decline. You people that keep talking about climate change as a myth are total nut jobs.
buckeyebubba says: @ January 4, 2014 at 1:02 pm
…..Why now just let then sit there until “global warming” melts their stupid asses out of there?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Because the nut jobs have already been “rescued” and now they are getting the ships crew out of trouble. The Russian inquiry into this should be quite interesting, so keep an eye on Pravda and the Voice of Russia.
This reminds me of this photo montage of a crane lifting another crane AND a car out of the ocean… remember this?:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/images/crane-tip6.jpg
Here is the full montage:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/two-crane-accident-photos.shtml
There is an eerie similarity here, except it is worse.
A Russian ship(1) freezes in the ice copying a previous voyage that resulted in a sunken ship(2). The Russian ship received a failed rescue attempt by one ship(3), then another ship which also got stuck in the ice(4), which is now being rescued by a 5th ship.
5 ships now involved in a recovery of a fake news story.
There needs to be a beer drinking song for this.
donbarcomejr says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Yet another article on this that fails to mention that the mission was Global Warming! As for GLobal Warming “finally costing US taxpayers (per a comment),
You are jumping into the middle of a whole series of articles about this CAGW fiasco on this site so by this time the obvious does not need to be stated. The context of most all comments should have made this clear.
I hadn’t seen the US Ice breaker mentioned for awhile. Hope they can get those two ships clear quickly.
If those scientist can’t be rescued, I wouldn’t worry. After all, they can always eat the penguins.
All the comments about the US paying for the rescue and US taxpayers getting stuck with the bill are overlooking an important consideration or two. First, the Polar Star has been out of commission since 2006. Probably few of the original crew have returned. The new crew needs all the practice and training we can give them. They have already had a few months training in the Arctic, but not enough. Here is the perfect mission for them. A real rescue in real thick ice and on the route they are taking. It would take two to three times the cost to set up a mock training session. They should be able to free both ships in one to two days if the ice doesn’t get too much thicker than the 13 ft reported a couple days ago. Breaking ice and rescuing ships is their mission. This is excellent training for the mission. And it will actually free somebody trapped in the ice. We can afford this. It beats giving money to the Palestinians.
The second thing this will do is give the US some good publicity if they rescue the trapped ships. God knows we need some good publicity. Obama is incapable of it. All he has done is give America an almost black body like tarnish. America is still a heroic country. Let’s us cheer the Coast Guard on to rescue those ships and bask a little in American glory. It’s been a while.
The Faboutlaws last comment was a most refreshing comment I have seen in a long time !!
No smash mouth just good common sense to win back credibility for the good ole USA
Of which we live in !! Look MOM “”” no spin or slant by media !!! Or B,,, Sh,, good call
He knows what going on,,,, no quessing about the situation. ! Keep up the good work
“Let them study the melt until “local warming” sets them free.”
(Mario Lento at 2:09pm, today)
Yes! (but, not those little Turkey kids). Yeah, someone pointed out that such a sentence would be cruelty to the feebleminded, but their “reduced capacity” isn’t THAT reduced. Let the new 2-story Turney’s Remedial Anthropogenicalism Studies Hall be where they all get their “2 hots and a cot” for the next….. oh, I don’t know…… when will the cooling trend of the past 6,000 (?) years end? ……….
Have fun guys, oh, and here’s a book for you, “600 Ways to Cook Penguin.” Cheers! (which, in Australian, as far as I can discern from comments on WUWT, usually means: “Crap happens!” said with a {GRIN})
This would be a fitting sentence for ALL Envirostalinists — all the windmill investors who slaughter birds and bats… all the ethanol fuel pushers ruining boat and car engines… all those who publish l1es and call it “science,” …. all those who spend BILLIONS on “green” scams while telling a little girl who needs a lung transplant, “some people live and some people die,” (K. Sibelius) …. and we could think of many more, I’m sure.
Is Al Gore the cabin boy on the Polar Star
So the US Coast Guard is going to rescue the Russian and apparently Chicom vessels which got stuck trying to rescue a Russian vessel that got stuck while carrying paying passengers in an effort to suck more Global Warming dollars out of the United States.
Meanwhile back in the USA many terribly wounded veterans of the war in Afghanistan are going without needed medical care because Obama would rather spend the money on social programs. The press never reminds us that almost 3/4 of the casualties in Afghanistan have been suffered under Obama.
Where are our priorities ….. We know where our President is – hiding
PS148:17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
It seems appropriate that now that the warmies have exercised their “oh save me…” and abandoned everyone to save their own skin, demonstrating their true yellow candy colors, that the USA, is going in to rescue the real men in all this…once again.
The Arctic farce was ALL about the science and nothing else. Furthermore, they were prepared and knew the risks. It’s true because I have just been told by Chris Turney in the Guardian below. Take a look:
But what do we have here?
Hmmmmmm! Turney did say: “This wasn’t a tourist trip. It was all about science”. Can you spot the number of scientists and compare them to the number of tourists? I betcha can.
Is Dr. Turkey being honest with himself?
PS 147:18 HE SENDETH OUT HIS WORD, AND MELTED THEM: HE CAUSETH HIS WIND TO BLOW, AND THE WATERS FLOW. They will get out when He says so!
Tim Clancy (Ex-Coastie) says:
January 4, 2014 at 2:12 pm
The United States Coast Guard …..”Rescuing Idiots Since 1790″
How about :
The United States Coast Guard …..”Thwarting Darwin since … before Darwin″
Dr. Brown asks “One wonders just how this one got himself trapped.”
The ship got stuck because Professor Chris(tmas) Turkey’s group did not return to the ship on time when the Captain demanded it. It was idiocy on the Warmists’ part but the Captain will have to pay for it.
It’s simple !!! When in Indian country ?? You look out for “” Indians “” when in Artic areas
You look out for “” ICE “”. That a Duh !! And did not listen to the Captain ?? Why do they
Call him That,,, another Duh ,,, it was Duh Boat !!!
Watch the real Americans as apposed to the imposters in D.C.
Dennis Beeson says:
January 4, 2014 at 4:25 pm
The Faboutlaws last comment was a most refreshing comment I have seen in a long time !!
I will second that!
You may recall ,in the last episode…..the evil Broke Yousayin OhBummmer…..aboard the American death star….had fired a freezing laser….at the Russian force…..sticking them in ICE forever……Then the CHINA forces rushed in…..and yet again…..Obama unleashed the ICE RAY….Now….he has Sent the COAST GUARD to the Rescue……Claiming ALL Help to His Imperial Self……….stay tuned !
How about a joke… What did the North Korean dictator say when the “RUSSIAN”, “CHINESE” and “AMERICAN” ice breakers all met up in Antarctica. Hmmm, maybe there is no punch line. I don’t buy the whole thing for one minute. The Russian ship getting stuck, unfortunate, and almost unbelievable – it’s that whole Siberia thing. But, nevertheless, convenient. The Chinese getting stuck and the Australians leaving both behind in favor of the US to come rescue. Kind of like the subplot in a James Bond movie, aye?
I wonder what Faboutlaws experience with the Polar Operations Program is. I agree that some of the crew may need training, but I can assure you the command of POLAR STAR is completely trained as well as a good number of senior enlisted.
@buckeyebubba @Gordon Corey @TresCool @Weeone @Mario Lento @ImaHippyBurning @B Cole @stevie & others
I share your sentiments but you have missed that the Turney “expedition” people who caused this whole rescue operation are long gone and safe onboard the Aurora Australis, discussing their splendid adventure over ice cream on their way to the Australian Casey station where the icebreaker was unloading supplies when called to rescue by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). The Turney, BBC and Guardian people were evacuated from their chartered Russian ship, the Akademik Shokalskiy (AS), by a helicopter from the now ice-bound Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) that was called to rescue by AMSA, just as now the USCGC Polar Star. Besides Aurora Australis and the Polar Star, the AMSA also called the French L’Astrolabe. All 3 icebreakers had to interrupt their respective summer supply missions to rush to rescue.
Igor Kiselev, the master of the chartered Russian AS may share some blame for not being forceful enough and allowing Chris Turney and his flock of sycophants, presstitudes and other assorted global warming courtiers and milkshake sippers to delay the ship’s departure when the weather turned and the ice started closing on them. It is now known that Kiselev wanted to get out in a hurry but Chris Turney’s sight-seeing onshore party delayed the ship’s departure.
The only thing we can do—now that they are safe—is to mock the Turney turkeys mercilessly, keep publishing real science based on data and facts, and hope that bad publicity surrounding this self-serving global warming junket may increase taxpayer awareness and bring some degree of sanity to the public funding of the international “climate science” juggernaut. But given the quickly adapting spin of the media coverage of this fiasco I am not holding my breath. Most WUWT people know you’d better be ready for a long, hard slog. There is no quick fix to this corrupt business other than what the taxpayers and voters will do.
P.S. Gail Combs said the same more succinctly before I finished my rant.
can we not bill the global warming idiots
tty says:
January 4, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Kamovs are built for over water. Russians designed them originally as ship-borne anti-submarine platforms.
Spent my first year in the USCG on Polar Star. She has since been mothballed, and recently recommissioned. Fair winds and following seas to her crew, and I sincerely hope she can get those AGW fools out of the ice…which is supposed to be melting…oops. Just to level set expectations, wind blown sheet ice may simply be too difficult and too regenerative to clear. Not everything is possible….
Helicopter Obama up there to the “Global Warming Investigative Ship” and the hot air out of his mouth should be more than enough to melt the ice.
I wondered how the Polar Star could get to antarctica as quick as it will. Turns out the ship travels from Seattle to open sea routes for antarctic research bases. Now that is a fishy deal, A ship that couldn’t possibly have an efficient long range hull travels nearly threequarters of the way from pole to pole.
One part of me hopes it is using some environmentally benign fuel, another part of me knows that would cost as much as air shipping everything those research bases need.
Might be time to unmothball the Polar Sea and lend it to one of the more local nations on that end of the earth. Now more than ever as the sea ice isn’t going away down there.
So more taxpayer money pi**ed away on global warming … Typical …
I am so lit I can’t count. It’s not 3 but 4 (four) icebreakers that were called to rescue: Xue Long, Aurora Australis, L’Astrolabe and Polar Star.
Agree strongly with your comments. The entire crew has a specific mission focus for the next few days as they approach the ice pack. The experienced crew has a tremendous opportunity to direct their attention to their primary mission and get them prepared for the job at hand. Opportunities like this need to be taken advantage of.
People often complain about incidental military missions like disaster relief and such but they always provide a training value that cannot be replicated in make believe training exercises. The real thing has a way of focusing your attention.
Although some of my former crew mates in the Navy were inclined to give the Coast Guard grief from time to time, they are a sister service and many seamen owe their lives to the CG — thumbs up to the Polar Star and her crew, show them how it is done!
….I share your sentiments but you have missed that the Turney “expedition” people who caused this whole rescue operation are long gone and safe onboard the Aurora …
Yep…”expeditioneers” suckin on cognac while real MEN scramble to pick up the pieces.
Send AlGore down there and let him blow his hot air on it.
You know what would be awesome to help pass the time while frozen down there in all that ice? A hockey stick..
@Bruce ryan – POLAR STAR was already on it’s way – it left Seattle on December 3, enroute to conduct Deepfreeze 14 and resupply McMurdo Station. This was not much of a reach for the ship to get there – the only thing in the trip down that was changed was the 4 day stay in Australia was shortened to 1 day for replenishment…
Let’em sit there and wait for their precious global warming to free them. The science is settled, they will be fine.
Prepare for warmer weather due to these enormous sea vessels spewing their earth killing pollution. Wouldn’t it be for the better good of the planet to allow these brave souls to sacrifice themselves for mother earth rather than doing more damage to her now with the rescue mission?Let them be martyrs.
I think we should bring them ice cream, fans, tank tops, safari hats, pool floats, flip flops, EZ-Ups, salt tablets, electrolyte drinks, beach umbrellas,……
It lives! This story has some legs on it. Is anyone taking bets which week, or month, they get these ships out? I hope for the crew’s sakes it’ll be soon but the “irony” of this is so acute. Who knew sea ice was so dangerous?! It’s supposed to retreat and cower like a vanquished enemy, not attack, parry and gore with major summer offensives … lol
Wonderful. The link of this article is carried by Drudge, together with a lot of other links about the horrible cold weather:
RECORD COLD CLOSES SCHOOLS IN MIDWEST…
MINNESOTA ‘WORST’ DEEP FREEZE IN 20 YEARS…
FROSTBITE IN MINUTES…
2010’S SET TO BECOME SNOWIEST DECADE ON RECORD FOR EAST COAST…
KILLER CHILLER MAP…
MAN BURNS DOWN HOUSE TRYING TO THAW PIPES WITH BLOW DRYER…
UPDATE: COAST GUARD TO ASSIST RESCUE SHIPS STUCK IN ANTARCTIC ICE…
HISTORIC FREEZE: WINDCHILLS 70 BELOW ZERO?
Now if Obama, Kerry and the EPA think AGW is real and punishing economic measures are needed I propose we send them our energy bills for this cold period in protest.
Maybe that will wake them up.
Anyhow I think it is a nice way to protest the Green Government Lunacy.
“Dave Kellems says: You will hear people talk about the Russian Nuke Ice Breakers. The only trouble is they can not leave the cold water of the Arctic. It has to do with the cooling systems for the Nuke Reactors.”
That is false. Nuke power plants can run just fine in tropical seas. Russia isn’t about to send one any time soon because doing so would be hilariously expensive, not because they can’t.
How do you think all the Nuke-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, etc operate anywhere they please? Cooling them is not a problem.
Why are we bailing out these silly “global warming” twits? They’re hoisted on their own pitards, where they belong. Man-made global warming is a fraud and hoax. These silly fools were down there trying to foist more lies on the rest of us. They suffer from Brain Freeze!
If it was up to me they would be wintering over……
I have a better idea!!! Let the darn boat sit there for 3 months and thaw out!!!
I can’t count and I can’t spell, either. The proper English term for Turney’s media fellow travelers is of course “presstitutes”, not “presstitudes”.
And another WUWT reader previously described the expeditioneers as “scientourists”.
Get a load of this. ? “”””” What if the POLAR STAR”” gets stuck ?? Then HELL freezes over
What if ?????
bruce ryan says:
January 4, 2014 at 4:40 pm
…One part of me hopes it is using some environmentally benign fuel,
I hear it is a renewable bio-fuel.
Whale oil.
JerryL says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Jerry, this is interesting–
>>>The Russians have nuclear icebreakers that are not permitted in the Antarctic due to International agreements….<<<
You mean that an international agreement requires ships with a huge rate of consumption of carbon-based fuel rather than clean-burning nuclear fuel in these times of global warming? What is the rationale for that? I'm guessing that the agreements date to an earlier time when the participants felt that it was PC for them to strike a blow against anything nuclear. So old obsessions now clash with newer ones.
bruce ryan says:
January 4, 2014 at 4:40 pm
…One part of me hopes it is using some environmentally benign fuel,
I hear it is a renewable bio-fuel.
Whale oil.
It’s actually DFM (NATO F-76) or JP-5 depending on where they fuelled.
Never say the USA doesn’t do anything for anyone. You’re welcome.
You’re welcome—USA.
@R. de Haan
Yes, the Drudge link is great. It brings readers here who have not been following the development of the Turney expedition fiasco closely or at all. More taxpayers and voters.
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:07 pm
JerryL says:
January 4, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Jerry, this is interesting–
>>>The Russians have nuclear icebreakers that are not permitted in the Antarctic due to International agreements….<<<
You mean that an international agreement requires ships with a huge rate of consumption of carbon-based fuel rather than clean-burning nuclear fuel in these times of global warming? What is the rationale for that? I'm guessing that the agreements date to an earlier time when the participants felt that it was PC for them to strike a blow against anything nuclear. So old obsessions now clash with newer ones.
James, the agreement has been in place for a long long time. Just like the agreement to pack out the trash that is generated. Not too many years ago, the scientific bases were becoming large landfills and hazardous waste superfund sites. The countries that have permanent bases came together to restore Antarctica to a pristine environment.
The more foreign involvement the better ,it just makes it that much more difficult for the ecolunatics to get away with the pseudo scientific drivel they have been spouting for the last 30 years.
Dennis Beeson says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Get a load of this. ? “”””” What if the POLAR STAR”” gets stuck ?? Then HELL freezes over
What if ?????
…the only way the Polar Star gets stuck is if the commander in chief orders it, in another attempt to embarrass the USA. A traitor in the white house.
OMG !!!! “””. ObombaBound “””
Let all the global warming fanatics freeze to death. Why should we spend our money rescuing them?
Mr. Lion says:
January 4, 2014 at 4:59 pm
It´s winter in the Arctic & Russia needs her nuke icebreakers.
A retired USCG admiral tows the CACA line but otherwise makes good points:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140103-antarctica-ship-icebreakers-science-ice-trapped/
I share your doubts about the cooling problem. US nuke surface ships & subs routinely traverse the tropics. Some are based in Hawaii, plus visit Guam & Diego Garcia (7 degrees S).
Why is the US paying for this? Why should taxpayers bail out Russian and Chinese ships? Australia is closer to this situation. If it doesn’t have a capable ship, it should get one. In the meantime, the US government better bill all parties involved!
Is the ice breaker solar powered? If not, it should be mothballed! 😉
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:07 pm
I stand corrected thanks to a later comment. According to Wikipedia the Russian nukes can’t sail through warm waters due to their cooling requirements, so they’re stuck in the Arctic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_icebreaker
Who else has taken the lead to save other countries from whatever problems occur around the world for the last 70 years? Only the the USA.
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:26 pm
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:07 pm
I stand corrected thanks to a later comment. According to Wikipedia the Russian nukes can’t sail through warm waters due to their cooling requirements, so they’re stuck in the Arctic.
Consider the amount of ice laiden shoreline that the Russions need to keep open. The priority is north.
highflight56433 says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:17 pm
True, that.
Only way Polar Star gets stuck is if ordered to do so. She´s a real icebreaker, not just ïce-capable¨.
She & her sister have been to Antarctica before & back. They can maintain three knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) in 6-foot (1.8 m) ice. Given their excess of power, they´re also fast in open water. Thank God she was already en route to the region.
[SNIP we don’t need a discussion about “race” in this thread, off-topic, pointless, ugly – Anthony]
Did the original ship get it’s “global warming” research data?
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:26 pm
Please note ¨citation needed¨. I´m dubious. Maybe their cooling system requires frigid water, but I´d be surprised.
This might be an excuse for not sending them south, as US icebreakers do.
So many commenters here gleeful that this ship stuck in ice because they believe it proves global warming is a hoax? The predicted global warming effects are associated with the future… sheeesh. Get it? It doesn’t prove your beliefs are true. Knowing something and believing something are two different things. Your mothers must be so proud back in their trailer-parks.
Oh, darn. I was hoping we would let those blithering global warming hippy types freeze in
the dark.
Turney, the cockney-voiced so called “leader” of the Warmist cruise (so shamefully named the “Spirit of Mawson”), took almost a week to come up with the, “it’s bergy bits of broken ice-sheet wedging us in”!
A quick check on the sea-ice’s salinity can blow that one out of the water.
And why didn’t he know there’s been a 60% increase in SEA-ICE over the last 30 years around Antarctica?
The warmist buffoon has admitted access to the latest weather reports which blew the sea-ice around the ship, he decided to let the day-tripping “scientists” visit Mawson’s Hut even as the captain was extremely anxious about immediately getting out of Commonwealth Bay, he had access to satellite imagery of the ice and yet all to no avail.
Just what were Turney’s priorities?
It seems a Warmist TV extravaganza destined for BBC and ABC consumption is/was being filmed. Mawson’s Hut would be a centre-piece of such a production.
Let’s hope the US Coast Guard can recoup a little of the cost from the parasite.
Here’s an apropos tune…
highflight56433 says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Maybe you were right the first time.
Russian nuke subs do fine in the Indian Ocean & South China Sea in Indian & Chinese service, & their own at Vietnamese bases. OK, maybe subs operate most of the time in cooler depths, but if the US & UK can send nuke ships into the tropics, why not the Russians? Could be the icebreakers are cooled differently, but so far only hearsay.
Let’s hope that eventually this conspiracy-of-silence coverup is expose–in court perhaps. Once exposed, it will be easy to see that this bunch would engage in the same coverup about larger matters, like the return of sea ice, the Pause, etc. IOW, that they’re basically untrustworthy.
4 Jan: CRI English: China Sets up Team to Rescue Stranded Icebreaker
The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announced on Saturday the team will map out rescue plans and make “all-out efforts” to coordinate rescue operations, despite there is no immediate danger to personnel aboard Xuelong, which has abundant fuel and food supplies.
The SOA also ordered its marine forecasting department and meteorological center to step up the collection and analysis of meteorological data, so that weather information will be updated and forwarded to Xuelong in a timely manner…
Currently, Xuelong is located at 66.65 degrees south latitude and 144.42 degrees east longitude. It is surrounded by floes up to four meters thick and is about 21 km away from unfrozen waters, according to the SOA.
Qu Tanzhou, director of the State Oceanic Administration’s Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said the planned expedition by Xuelong is inevitably affected and changes are expected to be made to the vessel’s mission after it gets out of trouble.
“If the ship is stranded for a very long time, which is very rare indeed, then we’ll have to evacuate the people onboard and leave the vessel there,” he said.
http://english.cri.cn/6909/2014/01/04/2361s806546.htm
golly winkies says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Those predictions for 2100 are based upon models that have already been shown hilariously wrong after only eight years (2005 to 2013). They were born wrong, being based upon preposterous assumption s contrary to all actual observations.
What if USCG Polar Star gets stuck? The US has nothing bigger. There may be some great salvage opportunities here in a couple of months.
To Faboutlaws, you say “we” can afford this. If you mean the US, it can afford nothing as it’s at least $17 trillion in debt and counting from doing “good.” How do you know the costs for this rescue including transit would be the same as a normal practice? The US is never going to be “liked” because the people running this country don’t want that to be the narrative. They make more money for themselves and cronies by selling us as bad guys. Ordinary Americans can constantly be subdued and stolen from if we believe we’re hated. US politicians demonize us bitterly from UN podiums and microphones around the world. At best we’re damned with faint praise. Because Americans are so mean and need to get people to like them, US politicians throws billions of tax dollars to the UN and cronies around the world for “global warming” expenses. People like yourself look at one event and say, hey here’s a chance for us to do something good so people will like us. That’s want they want you to think but it’s never going to happen. The US leads the world in CO2 reduction, admits nothing we can do can reduce global CO2 emissions (which are dominated by China), yet the US gov. insists trillions more be taken away from mean Americans every year in perpetuity so we “can be an example” for the world. After many years of observation, no countries are following our “example.” In the case of our CO2 “good guy leadership,” other countries are increasing coal use. Giving away billions of US taxpayer dollars every month to organized crime in Afghanistan and paying $400/gallon of gas makes us a laughing stock. Some of that US taxpayer cash goes to “insurgents” who kill and maim Americans, but we “can’t get out of the contracts” say our lawmakers. The US icebreaker fleet has long needed updating as others have pointed out. Politicians have opted to spend tax dollars elsewhere.
So well said. Thank you. BTW – it’s now on record that we (US of A) has given foreign governments over $7.5Billion over the past 2 years to “fight global warming”. WTF?!?!
I want to smash Turkey’s espresso machine.
Due to faulty science, we are charged on every utility bill, every gallon of gas, every grocery purchase etc etc etc……for so called ‘green energy’. Now we have to PAY TO HAVE THE IDIOTS RESCUED who are faulty scientists and who make a remarkable living from screwing every tax payer in the world………I say we should have just let them find their own way out of the mess that they created! But guess what…….those same scientists are ‘outa there’ and now and enjoying a vacation at our expense….
Dr. Darwin will be happy to rescue them… immediately after he finishing aiding Mr. Soros… who pays CASH…. British Pounds actually….
Recent business news – since fracking, oil and gas more plentiful, and because Arctic will not be navigable as anticipated, Big oil has cooled on Arctic production.
James Strom says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:07 pm
“According to Wikipedia…”
Wikipedia, unsurprisingly, is full of it. The difference in sea temperature between arctic and tropical areas is something like 70-80 degrees F at most. If your nuclear power plant goes from “happy” to “unrequested fission surplus” with that small an inlet coolant temperature change, you haven’t designed a power plant, you’ve designed a very crappy bomb, and not even Russia is that crazy.
milodonharlani says:
January 4, 2014 at 5:49 pm (replying to)
I am very, very skeptical about this claim (of not the Russian nuke ice-breakers not being able to cross the hotter equatorial waters) …. but NOT at all skeptical of a “requirement” that they are “not allowed” go into the “pristine” and “environmentally sacred” Antarctic waters.
See, the RUssian ice breakers have busted their cores before, have a reputation for nuclear-water leaks, reactor leaks, and cross-contamination between the reactor cooling water and the steam system. Remeber, on nuke reactors, the reactor core heats up, the water passing through and around the reactor heats up, that very-high pressure water heats up the lower pressure pure water in the steam generators, and that (now hot water as saturated steam at high temperature and pressure – but lower than the primary reactor water) goes from the steam generators through the throttle valves to the steam turbines and then (at lower pressure and lower temperatures) goes to the ship’s condensors. Then, and only then, can the sea water cool the steam and condense it so it can be pumped back to the steam generators and re-heated.
The sea water must be the final cooling point, but the reactor water is always at a higher temperature and pressure. If that reactor water is contaminated – by leaks through the reactor cladding, additional leaks through the steam generator wall tubes into the steam itself, additional leaks through the turbine-condenser tube walls into the sea water passing by the outside of the tube walls … then, yes, you will get radioactive sea water being released from the ice-breaker.
In “normal” Russian cruising, these leaks do occur – but are obviously unwanted and are fixed as they are found. But, how many Russian surrogate states monitor the water coming out of a Russian submarine heat exchanger when the Russian submarine is shutdown in port? On the other hand, “outlawing” nuclear reactors from the Antarctic “sounds nice” and “environmental” and, in normal , circumstances, doesn’t mean a d*mn thing, since Russian nuclear ice breakers are built and are run to operate in the Russian and Siberian Arctic. they don’t go south.
The SLR-1 was a US Army small reactor intended for Antarctic operations in the mid-60’s. It busted during operation/testing/refueling in Idaho’s NREL, and killed an operator under suspicious repair conditions due to a steam and reactivity expansion. Again, a good “excuse” to remove the other operating reactor from the US station down there.
to think that this was supposedly the hottest year on record, you have to wonder about those oracles of stupidity when they say stuff like that on a yearly basis! hope they don’t get stuck also. antartica is no place for mistakes and bravado! i have always wondered if one day they finally drill down to lake vostok it would mirror what we would find on europa another mystery.
Coast-a Guard Coast-a Guard come and a save-a my (S)hit
Sell the Polar Star to Greenpeace for its full cost and let them do the deed.
give us a year, golly winkies. When will you finally admit that you and them are full of sheit? 2030? 30100? 40000000?
For everyones info go to the antarctic treaty of Dec. 1 1959 and it will give answers before the commentary and why it so.
The idiots still haven’t stopped drinking the Electric Koolaid of the 1972 Environmental Earth Day in Ann Arbor which brought on the EPA
The Madness Become Insanity!
I guess that $400,000 AU-Dollar figure just UPPED to $1.6 Million US-Dollars with the “sky” as the unbounded limit! Ha Ha.
The “margin profits” just keep going up and up and up ….. 😯
Here’s an interesting story:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11181470
It covers how the environmental pilgrims pledged to plant 800 trees in New Zealand to offset their carbon emissions from their pilgrimage. The story goes on to say how they will now have to plant 5,000 trees to cover the carbon emitted for their rescue.
If eco-activists keep up with all these pledges, before you know it, they’ll have to dig up all the cities and cover the whole of New Zealand in trees.
Thanks to JerryL for his contribution to reality. I checked his facts and confirmed:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140103-antarctica-ship-icebreakers-science-ice-trapped/
Whether you unequivocally agree with ex-Admiral Garrett’s assessment or not, this is a must-read for those who want to opine from a position of knowledgeability.
Robert Muir says: January 4, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Russian Ice Breaker is much bigger than the USCG’s.Plus why the hell do we have to pay for this??
The Russian breakers cannot cool their reactors in tropical waters, they cannot make the trip from Arctic to Antarctic. The Russian ships while larger can only break ice up to 16 ft, the Polar Sea can break up to 21 ft.
Thank Drudge Report for linking this posting.
I am surprised they even still have icebreakers. After all, all of the polar ice was supposed to have melted by now. Gore and so many other “scientists” have told us so.
I say let the tree-huggers await global warming!!
Headline: U.S. Coast Guard on mission to rescue America-hating global warming cultists and their would be Chicom rescuers.
Australia is complaining too at the expense as it is a Russian ship. Ours could not penetrate the ice. They feel this ship was a commercial venture and should cop the cost. It was not a scientific venture, and was funded by paying passengers. The antarctic is a frozen region, and dangerous.It’s is not the place to take people who are not experienced and I bet no other ventures like this will be attempted and those involved cop the cost of rescue missions. Thank you America again. Best of luck.
These cuckoos will return in a few months when the ice thaws and then say, “SEE? The warming is causing the ice to melt”.
I sure as heck hope that they are billed for the rescue of both ships. The captain of the first ship should also lose his Captain’s license due to error in judgement.
How the F cold is it the Antarctic, but they were hell bent on the believe that global warming has melted all the ice and it would be clear sailing. I guess God showed them how wrong they really were.
Hi The Crone, but on the bright side, the Chinese don’t like Russia either, I bet they are giving the rescued comrades a de briefing. If the hulls on both these ships were not iron, the ice would gradually crush them. I wonder if they are insured? Suggestions are that the insurers should pick up the cost of rescue too. What are they going to do with these ships, leave them there? Ah well with Penny Wong yelling that Australia has had the hottest temps so far, proving global warming is right, then how does she explain this? We have hot climates and cool climates, and we do like UK experience hot weather. But generally that is followed by storms and rain. Like in UK.
They had an unseasonable hot summer in 2013, and now suffering floods.
Robert Muir says: January 4, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Russian Ice Breaker is much bigger than the USCG’s.Plus why the hell do we have to pay for this??
The Russian ships while larger can only break ice up to 16 ft, the Polar Sea can break up to 21 ft. With estimates of 13 ft. ice the fudge factor is in the Polar Star’s favor.
Lord Wellington of Colorado… (ahem),
While it is, no doubt, in my case, due to my writing poorly, you have misunderstood all or nearly all of those of us urging that the culpable parties (i.e., the adults in the Turney, et. al., group) be returned to Antarctica and left there. We assumed that everyone else here was as well-informed as we on the issue and simply did not bother to put that detail into our comments.
I appreciate very much your speaking up, for you have let me know that I need to be more careful to include EVERY-thing in what I write. The return of the spoiled brat ignoramuses was only implied and should have been made explicit. Gail Combs posted above my post and, from exchanges with her in the past, I think it likely that she understood what I (and most of the others) meant (sloppily, in my case) to say.
Thanks for keeping us on our written communication toes,
Janice
Well, I have only a tiny right to say this, but, glad to be able to help, Bush Bunny! Thanks for your appreciation. Glad to see you are back from your little “Christmas break.” I’m sure that yes, indeed, your family was happy you left WUWT on its own for awhile. I hope you, too (yes, I saw your “Merry Christmas” greeting to us all), had a lovely Christmas and…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Janice I didn’t stop writing I didn’t get many emails from WUWT over the Christmas break, so to speak. But I was pretty tied up with Christmas and a sick dog. He’s OK, only 10, an obiedience dog but long term medication for itching has made him blind in one eye. We didn’t notice it either would you believe until a few days ago. Now he is on a rich Omega 3 diet. By the way, although on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, our temps are higher than average, 31 C. But it will be followed by storms of course as normal. Despite Penny Wrong saying climate change is real because of the high temps. Geesus, Australia is supposed to be hot!
The Russian and Chinese will probably get a bill for the rescue not the American taxpayers. The ice that trapped the Russian vessel is not actually newly frozen ice but pack ice that could be decades old or older. When the winds shift, it piles ice up into layers. A shift in the wind over time could free the ships even before the Polar Star arrives or it could remain until fall. Summertime in the Antarctic does not add ice but sees it melt away until the fall.
Al Gore should be forced to pay this tremendous expense. He spent years getting rich off of these global warming loons. He bares full responsibility for their risky, foolish behavior. All these record cold temperatures and “unexpected massive amounts of ice” are the real “inconvenient truth”! You gullible LIBS can start your apology tour any time. We’ll all be waiting next to the heater!
Today’s earth science lesson. Winter in the northern hemisphere is summer in the southern hemisphere…. Jan 4th It is their 4th of [June]. get it now???
Let me give you a clue !!! And take it from there ? Have you ever heard of a 50, 100, 500
And a 1,000 year storm, flood or event ??? Well that’s what structural Engineers design
Bridges, and structural components for !!! The worst that can happen in any of those years,
Now take it from there ?? Our weather patterns look like the Dow Jones. That’s why they
Call it ..? “” WEATHER “”. Or not ??? Now take it from there. Each year is like a finger print.
Mother Nature lives here !!! We are just Visiting.
“OMG,” cried Obama. “We gotta get involved down there — gotta get those ships out of that gosh-darned ice real, real quick. This story is making us ‘climate change’ believers look silly. I mean really — don’t I have enough problems with my glorious Obamacare program?
The U.S. mass producing ice breakers…That actually can help everyone….keep all the manufacturing of these ships within the US supplying jobs…..our major purchaser would more than likely be the Canadians…its something all of the Arctic and Antarctic nations need….be sure to actually sell the ships and not donate them….instead of trying to tax everyone to death if you want to make money you can still use the climate….instead of lying about global warming how about privatizing ice breaking in shipping lanes….anyone even thought about this
“Milodon Harlani,” (lol) glad to hear that all is well. Why not post under your real name all the time?
It’s good to see that the rescue ships are getting aid, though I agree with those who decry the idea that any of this expense be born by taxpayers (of any country).
Note that this makes icebreaker number four – count ’em, four – called to this spot because of a misguided and badly misinformed global warming expedition.
Hey, wait a minute. The “man’s CO2 did it” crowd, which made up the entire passenger list on this little trip (scientists and students; there were no bona fide “tourists” on board), are, generally speaking, front and center blaming America for whatever perceived injustice they happen to be barking about on a given day. Isn’t is kinda dumb to go ahead and rescue them? Besides, their stated goal of retracing the path taken by an expedition that spent a year trapped (not “beset”) in sea ice is just beginning! Why spoil their outing?
Polar Star now about three hours out of Sydney, going at 17.7 knots, heading 183 degrees.
The scientific mission was to document reduced sea ice. Seems even in the antartic summer the sea ice is MORE than normal. Oops. The obsession with warming completely misses the reality of the situation. We should be in an ice age, due to orbital variations. If it wasn’t for global warming we would be much colder than now. You don’t have to have warming to prove that humans are causing climate change. And sometimes it’s a good thing in the short term. Check out this link: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/01/of-orbits-and-ice-ages/
Interesting, I have yet to hear, from the media in general, to the best of my recollection, that is is SUMMER down there! Oh . . . I forgot it is “climate change”. . . NOT “global warming.” My mistake.
U.S. Coast Guard to the rescue…doin’ it since 1790. Proudly served in the USCG back in the day and remember when the Polar Star was commissioned. Semper Paratus.