Russian ship delivers fuel to ice-bound Alaska port A Russian ship carrying vital fuel has arrived at this a remote Alaskan port after battling through some 300 miles (480 km) of Arctic ice, an official said. Helped by a US Coast Guard icebreaker, the Russian tanker Renda docked at Nome on Saturday. "The Renda is at its mooring point in position for delivery, with the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy standing by," Petty Officer Sara Francis, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, told AFP. She said fuel transfer was scheduled to begin on Monday after the ice around the Russian tanker had solidified again, making it possible to approach it. "Attaching the fuel hose could start tomorrow, but no personnel or equipment will approach the Renda, or start to put additional pressure on it, until the ice has refrozen," Francis pointed out. All personnel are in Arctic gear ... and have been trained on how to work on the ice. The Russian ship has brought 1.3 million gallons of fuel for Nome, a city of some 3,500 people which did not get its usual pre-winter oil delivery due to a storm in the fall. The bone-chilling weather is harsh even by Alaska's standards: officials said temperatures had been down to minus 50 degrees on the two vessels. A special waiver had to be granted to allow the Renda to head to the rescue, as normally only US-owned and operated vessels are allowed to make such deliveries, under a 1920 US law. Even once it has started transferring the fuel, it is difficult to predict exactly how long the operation will take, since the extreme temperatures could interfere with how fast the fuel can be pumped.