US EVACUATION IN ANTARCTICA?- RUSSIA CALLED IN TO HELP?

by CliffMickelson, Friday, January 07, 2005, 17:30

Greetings all:

This just in from one of my friends in Australia:

I have no verification on the story yet. Am attempting to get in touch with those who would know. No reply yet. Anyone else heard anything?

-CliffMickelson

***

Hey Cliff,

What happening at Antartica?

According to inside Aussie news reports the US has decided to evacuate its base at McMurdo in the Antartic and has requested the Russians to also send its icebreaker the Krasin to assist evacuation. The Krasin, which I believe is one of their big mothers, is reported to be presently south of the equator under full steam to meet a US icebreaker. The story goes that 2 large icebergs are grounded in McMurdo Bay preventing supplies reaching the Base.

There's something wrong with this story.

This time of the year is favorable for all manner of activity at Antartica. The Russian tourist ship the icebreaker,Kapitan Khlebnikov, is probably at Antartic with tourists. Or at least it is capable of cancelling the tourists and rushing from its permanent dock in New Zealand or Tasmania to evacuate staff.

These big mother icebreakers are probably engaged to remove huge quantities of instruments and people. Why are they rushing to remove instruments, equipment, etc, and people??

It is doubtfull that grounded 2 icebergs would halt supplies. What is incoming...might be a good question with this story??

I am suspecting, more than anything incoming, is that ice is shearing off the Antartic land mass and the Base is draining out to sea.

Have you anything on this story?

"J"