Antarctic field trip a factor in ship becoming trapped in sea ice on Christmas Eve Stranded Antarctic passengers rescued The moment a Chinese helicopter transferred stranded passengers of the Akademik Shokalskiy research ship to the Aurora Australis. PT1M28S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-316i6 620 349 January 22, 2014 - 5:21AM A four-hour delay on a passenger field trip in Antarctica may have contributed to the Akademik Shokalskiy becoming trapped in sea ice on Christmas Eve. In the hours before the ship was caught, its captain, Igor Kiselev, feared it would be surrounded by moving sea ice and requested passengers visiting nearby rocky islands return to the vessel, say passengers who didn't go on the trip. The captain and his staff up on the [ship's] bridge did not look happy The delay led to a massive international rescue effort, involving ships from three nations and, potentially, insurance claims for the rescue are expected to cost millions of dollars. Rescue: Passengers on the Akademik Shokalskiy were transferred to the Aurora Australis by a helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker. Photo: Zhang Jiansong The Russian-flagged vessel had been chartered by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, lead by University of NSW scientists Chris Turney and Chris Fogwill. It took several hours for the people visiting the Hogdeman Islands, including the two expedition leaders, to return to the ship, passengers said. Four hours passed before the ship retreated for open water. "The captain and his staff up on the [ship's] bridge did not look happy," said one passenger, who asked to remain anonymous. By the time the ship departed the ice edge after 6pm, shifting sea ice had already blocked the escape route. The Akademik Shokalskiy was stuck by 3am. On Christmas Day, Captain Kiselev sent a distress call that triggered a two-week international rescue mission involving four icebreakers and caused significant disruption to four countries' scientific activities. On January 2 the 52 Skokalskiy passengers were evacuated to the Aurora Australis, owned by P&O Maritime Service and chartered by the Australian Antarctic Division. In addition to the field-trip delay, the director of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Tony Press, said the satellite images his organisation provided to the AAE before it entered the sea ice-prone area "showed where the sea ice was located and the weather forecast predicted increasing winds, which would tell you that the sea ice could move." From midday on December 23 passengers were transported from the ship on snow vehicles over five nautical miles of ice to the Hodgeman Islands. "Everyone on board was keen to make the journey across the fast ice to the Hodgeman Islands," said one passenger. A weather forecast predicted 25-35 knot winds reaching 40 knots late in the day. "Despite the wind and extreme cold, the scenery on the journey was spectacular - it seemed unreal, as though we were on a movie set," said the same passenger. About 2.30pm the weather deteriorated. At the same time Captain Kiselev saw slabs of sea ice moving into the open water channel from which the ship had entered the area. He called for everyone to return. A passenger standing near Professor Turney overheard the voyage leader, Greg Mortimer, telling him over the radio to bring passengers back to the ship so it can leave. But minutes later, Turney drove six more passengers into the field. The overloaded vehicle had no space to collect returning passengers.