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According to Mr. Kovalchuk, traveling through the ice was more difficult than leading the fuel-laden Paul Buck tanker because temperatures fell and the wind grew stronger in the Ross Sea, on the coast of which the McMurdo polar station is located. The channel the Krasin had made through the ice was filled with icebergs and heavy ice again. The Krasin had to break ice around the dry-cargo vessel to prevent it from getting trapped. When the convoy was negotiating the most difficult last 12 nautical miles, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker the Polar Star, which trailed the convoy, joined the efforts. "Thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the captain as well as the seamless work of the crew, the Krasin has succeeded in accomplishing the main tasks of the McMurdo assistance operation ahead of schedule," the Far Eastern Maritime Company's General Director Yevgeny Ambrosov said. "Now, the station, which is the main research facility under the U.S. National Science Foundation's Antarctic Program, is provided with everything its crew needs to continue their work." With the U.S. ship unloaded, the Krasin will lead her back to an area in the Ross Seas safe for navigation. The Russian icebreaker is conducting the operation to help resupply the McMurdo station on order by the Russian government upon request by the U.S. government for help. Had the operation failed, the whole crew of McMurdo - about 1,000 people - would have had to evacuate the station and the long-term Antarctic exploration program would have been disrupted. Articles Related to the Adventures of the Icebreaker Krasin: **
USA Expresses Gratitude to the Crew of Russian Ice
Breaker Krasin USA
Expresses Gratitude to the Crew of
On behalf of the Foundation, and personally, we would like to express our immense gratitude for your great and earnest work. The Krasin and its crew perform their duties brilliantly, the letter states in particular. According to earlier reports, despite difficult ice and weather conditions, the Krasin ice breaker managed to convoy dry cargo ship MV American Tern with 10,000 tons of food, medical supplies and scientific equipment through ice fields to McMurdo Station. In the near future, right after the unloading of the American vessel, the Russian ice breaker will have to convoy it back to safe seafaring areas. The operation aimed at assisting McMurdo Station is being conducted by the Krasin on orders of the Russian government in response to the US request for help. Had the Krasin failed to convoy the US ships to the station, the 1,000-strong personnel of the McMurdo would have had to be evacuated. The Krasin ice breaker was built in 1976. A legendary ice breaker under the same name participated in the international operation to rescue an Italian North Pole expedition headed by Umberto Nobile in 1928, and prevented one of the largest sea catastrophes, the Far Eastern Shipping Company press service said. Russia's
Icebreaker Krasin Led American
The tanker Krasin had earlier led to the station through thick hummocky ice brought 19,000 tons of diesel fuel for the MacMurdo staff. The cargo was unloaded on Saturday night. On February 2, the Krasin is due to begin leading the U.S. steamer American Tern to the station. The American Tern carries 10,000 tons of food, medicines, and research equipment. The Russian icebreaker is part of a mission led by the Russian government in response to a request from the U.S. authorities. |