Polar Star, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, completes ice drills in the Arctic in this July 3, 2013 handout photo. The United States is sending the Polar Star to help free Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon gripped by Ant
Polar Star, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, completes ice drills in the Arctic in this July 3, 2013 handout photo. The United States is sending the Polar Star to help free Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon gripped by Antarctic ice, the Coast Guard said on January 4, 2013. The Polar Star is responding to a request for assistance from Australian authorities as well as from the Russian and Chinese governments, it said in a statement. Reuters

Australian fishing boat Antarctic Chieftain has been freed from the Antarctic ice. A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, Polar Star, responded to the call for help together with a ship from New Zealand.

Maritime New Zealand said the Australian ship is being escorted back to New Zealand. The Antarctic Chieftain has 26 crew members including 13 New Zealand who had no choice but to wait for rescue since their ship’s propeller was damaged from the hard ice.

The U.S. icebreaker reached the Australian vessel over the weekend and towed it the boat through 4-metre thick ice. Maritime New Zealand said the Antarctic Chieftain was able to use its own engines in open water. A New Zealand ship, the Janas, met up with the Australian vessel and escorted it back to New Zealand waters.

Polar Star Commander Kenneth Boda told Radio NZ that the journey to rescue the Australian ship was perilous as the icebreaker’s towing line broke twice. After the second time the line was broken, Boda and his crew decided to shut down operations for about eight hours and sleep.

The U.S. Coast Guard vessel resumed towing the Antarctic Chieftain in the morning at a slow pace. Boda said it was difficult to make the line go faster because of thick and big pieces of ice. He explained that the biggest ice floes were about the size of a small store.

While the icebreaker could go through the ice because of its reinforced hull, the Australian ship did not have the same protection. Boda said the ships could not go around the ice since he was worried about big pieces of ice floes going between the two vessels.

“I’ve never seen so many icebergs in one place,” said Boda who saw about 40 icebergs in the vicinity where the Antarctic Chieftain was trapped. He saw the Australian ship covered in thick ice from the storm last week.

Antarctic Longline chief executive Malcolm McNeill said the New Zealand vessel was escorting Antarctic Chieftain as a precaution. The Australian ship is headed to Nelson in New Zealand to have its damaged propellers repaired, reports ABC News. McNeill thanked the U.S. Coast Guard and New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre for responding to the aid of one of Longline’s vessels.

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