Riverdance!
Posted on 01/01/2014 6:47:23 AM PST by fso301
ABOARD XUELONG, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese helicopter Xueying (Snow Eagle) on board the icebreaker Xuelong has been prepared for the airlift of trapped passengers on a Russian vessel stuck in sea ice off Antarctica, Xueying captain Jia Shuliang told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"The crew members have been readied to transport the 52 scientists and tourists aboard MV Akademik Shokalskiy with their luggage to Xuelong in groups of 12," Jia said.
According to the rescue plan, six crew members will be split into three two-person teams, respectively responsible for flying the helicopter and guaranteeing the ground service on board Xuelong and on the icy landing surface, Jia said.
"The first flight will transport all 12 staff of the emergency relief working group to the planned landing area to investigate thickness of the ice and pave planks to prevent possible sinking or rollovering," Jia told Xinhua.
Xuelong, which left Shanghai in early November on China's 30th scientific expedition to Antarctica, has established an emergency relief working group after the Russian ship's captain sent a formal request on Tuesday for chopper rescue.
The whole rescue, through five or six flights, should take three to four hours if weather conditions permit, Jia said, adding, "We must be patient and wait til the adverse weather improves, as poor visibility could lead to tragedy under the current condition of limited navigation and weather forecast."
He also pointed out that a landing on ice could be affected by many environmental factors, including the thickness of ice and snow in the landing area.
The powerful Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis, which is approaching slowly due to the poor weather, will use its barge to take aboard all the passengers from Xuelong afterwards.
Xueying helicopter, which started its service in the Chinese scientific expedition in the Antarctica on Nov. 6, 2013, is a large KA 32 helicopter aboard ship, and is capable of wind resistance under 10 meters per second.
What a great idea - make them disavow global warming or become a frozen monument to their perverse ideology to take over the world.
My 25 y/o vehicle has a Freon system. Soon I’ll be back in style.
This whole operation has an Obamacare failure type feeling about it.
I have a picture of the fuel, insurance and personnel expenses being happily donated by the Chinese or others involved....oh, yeah.
Betcha a dollar to a doughnut that the good ole U S of A is clandestinely shelling out taxpayers' money for the environmental whackos' airlift operation.
Leni
See post #18 by Freeper IceFlyer at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3106458/posts
Isn’t China largest producer of co2?
My understanding of international law is that some combination of the ship owners and expedition are responsible for the rescue bill.
Didn’t they say just the other day that the ice was melting. Let them stay there and wait it out.
Leni
Yeah and imagine how they will fight over all the passenger gear that gets left behind.
Mine too ... Mine’s only twenty though. Will drive it till the wheels fall off or till forced to stop releasing Freon. It might be in obamacare, ya know, since I got to keep my insurance, might be forced to buy a new car under obamacare.
Apparently they are taking the gear with them on the helo.
Why not drop a line of bombs from near the ship to the open sea. It seems to me that would be he most efficient solution, and it would give some extra training to the lucky pilot.
I'd imagine, especially with tourists on board that it's insured. The cruisers on the vacation of a lifetime probably signed waivers so they'd have a tough time blaming anyone.
This still doesn't sound like a done deal. That's a lot of helicopter trips, there are still going to be a lot of people stranded on the boat, and then there's the evacuation of the stuck Chinese vessel.
This rescue can not be good for the environment. The environmental best alternative might have been to leave the fools on the ship until the ice thaws. Or let them walk to the edge of the ice. (sarcasm, of course)
Bonus points if they “miss”?
Popsicles and Icicles ... the Murmaids ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5NDFot98cA
That'd be fitting for the CAGW Trip Leader "Professor" Turney.
We have an icebreaker that apparently is more effective than the Chinese and Australian ones, but it has been out of service being refurbished for years. It is now in service, and sailing towards Australia, but nowhere near the Antartic. If this goes on for another two weeks, it might get called into service.
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