Australia’s flagship icebreaker Aurora Australis has run aground in Antarctica after it breaking free from its moorings at the Mawson station during a blizzard.
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It is now impossible to fully assess the damage inflicted on the ship, but the division said there is a breach in the hull into a space that is usually flooded with ballast water.
Sustained winds of more than 130 km/h (80 mph) were recorded on the Mawson station automatic weather station leading up to the incident.
Dr Gales said all of the cargo and fuel for Mawson Station had already been offloaded.
An Australian ship with 67 expeditioners and crew has run aground in Antarctica after a blizzard, the Australian Antarctic division of the environment department has said.
“They will remain on the ship until conditions ease and it’s safe to move them over to Mawson Station”, said AAD director Nick Gales.
It is understood the crew will likely sit tight until conditions ease.
‘The ship remains watertight.
Weather conditions need to ease before the ship can be refloated.
The AAD also said a US LC130 aircraft will take more than 30 expeditioners awaiting transport home from Australia’s Davis research station to Casey research station so they can be flown home on the AAD’s plane. “[It] is within a few days of the area so we’re in discussions with the Chinese among other national programs”, Gales said. The ship is 94.9 meters long.
Australia has four stations in the Antarctic wilderness and Aurora Australis routinely travels from the Australian city of Hobart on scientific and resupply voyages.
In 2014, Aurora Australis helped rescue Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy and its 52 crew.
The ship, which came into service in 1989, is due to be replaced by a new $A500 million icebreaker in 2019.
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The ship left Hobart on January 11 on its latest mission, undertaking marine science work around the Kerguelen Plateau region before arriving at Mawson last Saturday.
