107 People Stranded in Antarctica

RedArmy18 writes "A German freighter carrying 107 people became trapped when the boat got stuck in the ice. Argentina was going to launch a rescue effort but it has been caught in a dispute over the cost, the Russian govt. has also considered sending an icebreaker to free the crew."

Comments

Re:What the hell?

[raduga]

Hey, I have an idea. Instead of actually saving their lives, let's just argue about it. Or maybe we'll just think about it. Actually DOING something would be a bit premature, though.

Yeah. Saving lives *is* preferable, but keep in mind, that in Antarctic winter, conditions down south are *dangerous* for rescuer and rescuee alike.

There are probably several available options, for the Argentines as well as for the Russians. Cost is probably one factor, as is availability of ships on-site, and the comparative cost of operations vs reliability, safety, and other cascading effects of moving these ships about. I suppose Argentina would not want the liability/embarassment if their expedition proved ineffective in getting the people out to safety. If the Russians have a ship in the region, with crew available and willing to assist, hooray for them, should they choose to step in and bail the people out. It may take a few weeks to get ships from Argentine port, or Russian cruise, so a couple days argument is probably better *now* than after they get underway.

(less aggravating for the ships enroute, too!)

The Ice Master

[iiii]

Reminds me of a book I just finished reading, The Ice Master. It's a great book. It is the true story of the Karluk and its crew, who, during a polar expedition, got stuck in the arctic ice in 1913. The ice they were trapped in drifted hundreds of miles, from Alaska to Siberia, so no one could find them. They were trapped with the ship for some seven months, then the ship sank and they were stranded out there on the ice. They survived on the ice for several more months, then most of them managed to get to land, and the captain trekked hundreds of miles to get to the western coast of Siberia, where he got passage to Alaska to arrange a rescue. In the end more than half of them died, and the rescue finally got to them a year and three months after they were iced in.

Things are much better for these folks in Antarctica, of course, but if these things interest you I highly recommend the book.