A RESCUE mission is still underway to help passengers on a Antarctic-bound cruiseliner which has been trapped by ice after a storm. 
 
 There are 50 tourists, including Australian scientists and explorers and 20 crew on the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which is on a Spirit of Mawson voyage along the edge of Antarctica. 
 
 They are in no immediate danger, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). 
 
 Those on board are said to be in fine spirits. 
 
 "The ship is reinforced against ice and well adapted to the conditions," said Alvin Stone, spokesman for voyage operators. He said those on board were in fine spirits and were enjoying Christmas. 
 
 Mr Stone said the storm was well-timed as those on board has just returned from a 60km trek across pack ice in Antarctica. The ship had sailed from New Zealand to visit several sites. The AMSA received a distress call on Christmas morning. 
 
 A spokeswoman said three ships had been sent to assist but it would take at least two days for the nearest vessel to reach the remote location - about 1500 nautical miles south of Hobart. "It's in quite a remote part of the world," she said. 
 
 "But we have everyone safe. The vessel isn't in any immediate danger." The ship's voyage is part of a research expedition to commemorate the centenary of Douglas Mawson's exploration. 
 
 Expedition leader Chris Turney didn't seem too bothered by being stranded. 
 
 He posted this Vine video of the ship on Twitter. 
 
 We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas from the AA... https://t.co/dIiKBnP6rz — Chris Turney (@ProfChrisTurney) December 25, 2013 
 
 He wrote in a Christmas Day tweet: "Heavy ice. Beautiful; light wind. Only -1degC. All well. Merry Xmas everyone from AAE." The privately funded expedition includes a trip to Mawson's Huts on Antarctica, which had been inaccessible for many years because of an iceberg. ||||| The Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy is shown trapped in thick Antarctic ice on Dec. 27, 2013. (Photo: Andrew Peacock, Australasian Antarctic Expedition/Footloose Fotography) Story Highlights The Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy has been trapped since Christmas Eve 
 
 Two icebreakers were unable to reach the ship. Another is due Sunday. 
 
 The ship isn't in danger of sinking, and there are ample supplies for passengers 
 
 Passengers aboard an ice-bound cruise ship trapped off the coast of Antarctica cheered Friday night when they spotted the Chinese ice-breaker Snow Dragon on the horizon. 
 
 "There's a lot of relief among the team and a lot of happy faces," said expedition leader Chris Turney in a video posted on YouTube. 
 
 However, the jubilance was short-lived. 
 
 The Snow Dragon icebreaker came within 7 miles of the stranded ship but had to retreat after the ice became too thick, expedition spokesman Alvin Stone told the Associated Press. France's L'Astrolabe made it to the edge of the sea ice surrounding the ship, too, but also called off its mission for the same reason. 
 
 Turney, professor of climate change at the University of New South Wales, Australia, has been tweeting and blogging the adventure, and has become a minor celebrity of sorts. Using tools unimaginable to adventurers who explored the frozen continent a century ago, his reports recorded in howling blizzard winds show the enthusiasm and nonchalance of a real-life Indiana Jones. 
 
 A third rescue vessel, Australian Antarctic Division vessel Aurora Australis, may have a better chance because it has a higher ice-breaking rating. 
 
 Aurora Australis is expected to arrive on Sunday, said Lisa Martin, spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue. The Snow Dragon will remain in the area in case its help is needed. 
 
 "I think we're probably looking at another 24 hours of twiddling our fingers and waiting for something to happen," said Stone. 
 
 Other options include bringing in ice-crushing vessels or airplanes or helicopters. 
 
 The ship, located about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart, Tasmania, became trapped Christmas Eve after a blizzard's whipping winds pushed sea ice around the vessel, freezing it in place. On Dec. 25, Turney tweeted "We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas." 
 
 The ship wasn't in danger of sinking, and there were ample supplies for the 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board. The trip, which left New Zealand on Nov. 28, is on a special research voyage to honor the 100th anniversary of famed Australian explorer Douglas Mawson. 
 
 The scientific team on board the vessel plan to continue their expedition after they are freed, Turney said. Passengers and crew have had to contend with blizzard conditions, including winds up to 40 miles per hour, but the weather had calmed considerably by Friday. 
 
 "The blizzard we had yesterday was quite extraordinary — it's not nice when you can feel the ship shaking," he said. 
 
 Despite the interruption to the expedition, the scientists have continued their research while stuck, counting birds in the area and drilling through the ice surrounding the ship to photograph sea life. 
 
 The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights Rescue efforts are at a frozen standstill just like stranded ship 
 
 Chinese icebreaker expected to arrive first but has been stopped by ice and storm 
 
 The stranded research vessel is carrying tourists and scientists studying climate change 
 
 The 74 people aboard had a "great Christmas" while at a frozen standstill, leader says 
 
 South Pole weather has stymied a rescue by a Chinese icebreaker trying to reach an expedition vessel trapped for the past four days in frozen seas, a ship officer told CNN Friday. 
 
 The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, was just six nautical miles away from the rescue, but now it's stuck in an Antarctica ice floe, too. 
 
 The Chinese crew is hoping a French icebreaker 14 nautical miles away will arrive and offer relief, said Zhu Li, chief officer of the Chinese ship. 
 
 But it's likely the French vessel Astrolabe will also be slowed by the polar cap's extreme frigidity, Zhu said. 
 
 Those two icebreakers -- plus a third, from Australia -- were battling the planet's coldest environment in trying to reach the stranded Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, whose 74 researchers, crew and tourists remained in good condition despite being at a frozen standstill since Monday. 
 
 It all shows that some lands -- especially the ends of the Earth -- will never be tamed. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Antarctic crew amazed by viral fame Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Antarctic crew amazed by viral fame 04:59 
 
 The Snow Dragon is in near-constant communication with the Russian exploration vessel and has ample supplies of water, food and medicine -- even a helicopter -- if the ice-bound Shokalskiy needed them, Zhu said. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Morale high on ship stuck off Antarctica Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Morale high on ship stuck off Antarctica 03:14 
 
 JUST WATCHED Ships headed to ice-trapped vessel Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ships headed to ice-trapped vessel 01:15 
 
 The Russian expedition ship is carrying scientists and passengers led by an Australian climate change professor, but they all may have to wait two more days for one or all three icebreakers to free it, said Capt. Wang Jiangzhong of the Snow Dragon. 
 
 "Right now we are waiting for winds to blow ice away so we can move closer," Wang told CNN. "The current ice condition is exceeding our capabilities to break through further." 
 
 The captain also acknowledged his ship may need help from the other icebreakers headed to the area if conditions deteriorate. 
 
 "We are in continual communication with the (stranded) ship," he said in a satellite phone call with CNN. "I think it's at least a form of emotional relief for them to know we are nearby to help. We know that they (passengers) are all doing well on that ship." 
 
 The Aurora Australis out of Australia is two days from the Russian ship, its captain, Murray Doyle, told CNN on Friday. 
 
 China's State Oceanic Administration said the Xue Long sailed through an intense cyclone to reach the Akademik Shokalskiy sooner. 
 
 Meanwhile, spirits were high Friday aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy. 
 
 "The vessel is fine, it's safe and everyone on board is very well," expedition leader Chris Turney, a professor of climate change at University of New South Wales in Australia told CNN. "Morale is really high." 
 
 It got stuck in the ice on Monday night -- 15 days after setting out on the second leg of its research trip. 
 
 According to Turney, the ship was surrounded by ice up to nearly 10 feet (3 meters) thick some 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont D'Urville, about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart, Tasmania. 
 
 On Christmas morning, the ship sent a satellite distress signal after conditions failed to clear. 
 
 The crew had a "great Christmas" despite their situation, Turney told CNN earlier. He said crew members have used the delay to get more work done. 
 
 "We've just kept the team busy," he said. 
 
 The expedition is trying to update scientific measurements taken by an Australian expedition led by Douglas Mawson that set out in 1911. 
 
 The expedition to gauge the effects of climate change on the region began November 27. The second, and current leg of the trip, started December 8 and was scheduled to conclude with a return to New Zealand on January 4. 
 
 Turney said the ship should still be back in New Zealand on time.
– An Antarctic adventure cruise has become stuck in ice after a storm, and rescue ships are at least two days away—but to judge from the dispatches from the ship, the people aboard don't seem to mind. The Akademik Shokalskiy sent out a distress call yesterday, News.com.au reports, but a spokesman for the Spirit of Mawson, which organized the voyage, says the Russian ship is "reinforced against ice and well adapted to the conditions." The ship is believed to have enough provisions aboard to hold out. Reports differ on how many people are aboard—News.com.au says there are 50 tourists and 20 crew, while ABC has the numbers at 35 and 22—but those "tourists" include scientists, explorers, and historians. "We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas," the expedition leader tweeted. In a blog post, the ship said it was just two nautical miles from open sea, but powerless to get closer. The timing of the storm was actually fairly fortuitous though; if it had struck earlier, it might have caught the adventurers in the middle of a nearly 40-mile hike across pack ice.