Russian ship frees itself from ice in Antarctic
By The Associated Press
This article was published November 20, 2009 at 8:21 a.m.
MOSCOW — A Russian cruise ship that has been struggling through a huge mass of sea ice for days has finally reached open water off Antarctica.
The Captain Khlebnikov icebreaker carrying 101 passengers got stuck in the ice earlier this week near Snow Hill Island in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. It has taken the ship five days to free itself, Fareastern Shipping Co. spokeswoman Tatyana Kulikova said Friday.
She said it would now take the icebreaker three more days to return to Ushuaia on the Argentine coast — a full week after it was supposed to arrive.
The cruise was advertised as a unique opportunity to watch emperor penguins in their natural habitat. The Finnish-built icebreaker has been used as a cruise ship for several years and carries two helicopters.
Kulikova said the icebreaker is scheduled to make another Antarctic cruise in the fall.
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