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British tourists stuck on Russian icebreaker in Antarctic ice

© www.pryroda.gov.uaBritish tourists stuck on Russian icebreaker in Antarctic ice
British tourists stuck on Russian icebreaker in Antarctic ice - Sputnik International
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A group of mostly British tourists on board a Russian icebreaker in the Antarctic are getting more of a trip than they bargained for as the ship has become stuck in the ice.

MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - A group of mostly British tourists on board a Russian icebreaker in the Antarctic are getting more of a trip than they bargained for as the ship has become stuck in the ice.

The Kapitan Khlebnikov is inching its way towards open water - about 5 nautical miles (9 kilometers) away - covering approximately 1.5 nautical miles in the past 24 hours.

The ship is waiting for a favorable wind to help loosen the ice, but the 105 passengers, including tourists, scientists and a BBC television crew, will end their tour a day or two later than planned.

A representative of the boat's owner, the Far Eastern Shipping Company, said the prevailing northwesterly winds were not strong enough to free up the ice.

"They are rather weak - 5 meters per second. At least 15 meters per second is required, and if they are stronger, even better," German Kuzin said. "As soon as the wind picks up, there will be movement of the ice, naturally, weakening the pressure of the ice."

The tourists are still able to take helicopter tours of local sites, including Snow Hill Island and its population of emperor penguins.

There is not thought to be any threat to the icebreaker, which was built in 1981 and can move through ice 1.5 meters (5 feet) thick at a speed of one knot (1.85 kilometers per hour).

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