Academician Shokal cruise. "Akademik Shokalsky" and the rescue operation in Antarctica. Tourists keep the fleet afloat

Motor ship "Akademik Shokalsky" (hydrometeorological service), 1980s

The ship "Mogilev" washed ashore (with a cargo of more than 20,000 pounds), covered with ice

"Akademik Shokalsky" on the sludge

From left to right: Victor Sobolev (radio operator), Valery Nefediev (mechanic), Sergey Sklyanov (first officer)

Team "Shokalsky" a month before the death (July 1983). From left to right: Nefediev V., Maksimov V., Konovalova A.P. (cook), a sailor who did not go on that voyage, Sklyanov S., Chernysheva A.K., in the front row Sobolev V.

Widows, children, relatives of crew members at the monument on the shore of Lake Baikal (October 1983)

Monument at the site of the death of the ship "Akademik Shokalsky" (Cape Krasny Yar, October 1983)

Every year, a Baikal ship comes to the deserted shore near Cape Krasny Yar, the kind that usually sail on the waters of Lake Baikal. There are never tourists on its deck, and people sail with it to celebrate a sad feast here. And so every year, in 1993 it was the tenth time.

Here, in this place, in full view of the shore, the ship "Akademik Shokalsky" and seven crew members died. One of the last major catastrophes on Baikal with human casualties. The ship disappeared without a trace, without returning anyone to the earth. Baikal keeps its secrets tightly.

Those who sail here every year remember the dead and the wound does not heal, and grief is unbearable, and the heart hurts deeper; there are no graves on earth, and even if no one speaks about it aloud, hope lives in everyone - can they be alive? And every year they commemorate Vladislav Ivanovich Chernyshev, Sergey Sklyanov, Valery Nefedyev, Viktor Maksimov, Viktor Sobolev, Antonina Konovalova, Valery Rudakov.

Sometimes, knowing why the ship came here, passing ships sail up. People have been connected with Baikal for years, decades, it

rarely let go. And, looking at Baikal, sparkling under the morning sun from a memorial sign placed on the mountainside, they remember both sad and cheerful.

All of them were young, all had children of different ages: Captain Chernyshev's son was already twenty-second, and his assistant Sergei Sklyanov had three kids; Nefediev has a nine-year-old daughter, and Maksimov, a mechanic, has a son and a daughter. Left widows, orphans, inconsolable parents.

And the crew was friendly and cheerful. Their pranks and jokes are still remembered. And, perhaps, cheerful memories of them brighten up grief. When arriving at the port, instead of things, they could put bricks in a backpack for someone, wrapping them with something soft. Or they could, on the contrary, going to sail, put all the ties open. Before the last tragic voyage, a month before it, the whole team cut their hair to zero, like new recruits.

After the disaster, a garden bench washed ashore. She was carried away at night from some garden and carried through the whole city to the ship, frightening and surprising late passers-by. And this

the bench became proof that "Shokalsky" had died. How many absurd accidents in life, or really fate, and you can’t run away from it anywhere. And, obviously, such accidents are enshrined in folk word-creation: "it is written in the family", "whoever is hanged to be will not drown." The sailor Alexander Mikheev did not go sailing, instead the artist of the musical comedy theater Valery Rudakov set off for the duration of his vacation. And on this day, when a ship comes to Krasny Yar, even if Baikal-priest frowned the day before, dispersed the wave, then on the second of August, on Ilyin’s day, he smiles affectionately, all shines in glare, as if on this day he is trying to make amends for his guilt before these innocent people, maybe only guilty of being wives, mothers of people who passionately loved Baikal and could not imagine life without it.

Baikal belongs to the class of lakes, but disasters have happened on it, like on a real sea, and you need to think hard before frivolously calling it a lake. Its waters inspire reverence even when it is quiet and calm. He is neither evil nor kind, he is indifferent to the fate of people. And he took the victims from the very beginning of the appearance of fragile boats and sailboats on it.

“... in the autumn of 1772, the St. Kuzma boat was thrown by a storm onto the eastern coast near Posolsk and damaged. In 1779, the boat "Adrian and Natalya" was thrown onto the embassy's corga and covered with ice. In 1817, three ships with state-owned lead were broken by a storm, “the ships that were on the delivery of Xenofont Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, the cargo and people died completely.” On September 15, 1838, the Irkutsk galliot wrecked near the Posolsky Monastery, the crew escaped, the ship sank. In 1860, in late autumn, the steamer "Heir Tsesarevich" was lost.

The largest disaster in terms of the number of human casualties was the disaster with the Potapov ship, which belonged to the Nemchinov Shipping Company in the Small Sea. 158 people died, of which 143 were men, 11 women and four children. 550 barrels of fish were broken, 107 nets were drowned. A detailed study of this catastrophe, based on archive materials, was conducted by the captain of the motor ship Andrulaitis, Viktor Vertyankin, and published an article in the journal River Transport, No. 6, 1991.

Last year, ten years have passed since the death of the motor ship “Akademik Yu.M. Shokalsky”, with which 7 crew members, including one woman, died, the ship also disappeared, which has not yet been found, despite a thorough search.

The place where the disaster occurred is called Krasny Yar. And in gloomy weather, it makes a gloomy impression. An almost sheer wooded mountain rising like a screen above Baikal; at the water's edge stand a wall bleached by the sun, dead pines, torn off from the mainland; branches like hands crying out for help.

The coast is usually deserted, but on that tragic day on August 2, 1983, fortunately, there were people who found shelter in anticipation of the coming bad weather: fishermen, tourists, children from nearby Buguldeyka. If on this day, as usual, there would not have been a single person here, then the death of the ship "Shokalsky" would have generally remained a mystery, never solved. And one more very important circumstance: on the shore of the Krasny Yar there was a witness who worked for a long time on the seas of the Northern

of the Arctic Ocean, who had experience in observing the state of the situation at sea and was then able to draw up a diagram of the situation of the death of the ship.

In general, Cape Krasny Yar is a dead place. One of the inspectors of the ship inspection said that he had been investigating accidents with rafts for about 20 years. Most often, rafts fight at Krasny Yar. An unusual weather situation arises here, a northwest wind blows, fog rolls down from the mountains, not even fog, but some kind of jelly from the fog. Closer to the zenith, the sky is absolutely blue, it seems that the clouds stand still. The wind blows from mountain crevices, local mountain winds often arise. It is difficult to predict the weather here: there is no meteorological station on Bugul-doyka, and winds blow, the names of which are known to everyone. Barguzin - eastern

wind from Barguzin, Kultuk - southwest wind, Verkhovik - northeast.

In the area of ​​Krasny Yar, the weather did not work out already after noon on August 1. At that time, in Irkutsk, the ship "Shokalsky" was preparing for the exit to Davsha, to the north. At 14 - 00 he was examined and found fit for accident-free navigation. At 18 - 00 he left Irkutsk and walked along the western coast.

And in the area of ​​​​Krasny Yar, boats moored, which, out of the danger of worsening weather, landed on the shore to wait out the bad weather.

When investigating the accident with the thermal ship "Shokalsky", Grabovsky Nikolai Iovich said: ""... Wind Aul gusty 15 m/s.(1 August 1983 - author), the wave was about 1 m. We do not go on boats with such waves. By evening, the wave subsided and we went on, we stopped for the night at Cape Krasny Yar. We pulled the boats 200-250 meters from the cape, on which there was a beacon and a pole near the water. On August 1, Irkutsk / Ulan-Ude did not transmit any weather on the Baikal radio.

In the evening at about 23:00 the wind began to increase, became gusty again, somewhere up to 25 m/s. and went on all night. By the morning the wind increased sharply, our tent was blown off at about 7 o'clock. We went to put up tents in the forest, at that time our both boats, tied with a 30-meter rope, were lifted by a whirlwind (tornado) into the air and thrown 15 meters away. All this opposite the cape gave rise to whirlwinds. In the place of our parking, the waves were 0.5-0.75 m. On the cape, the wave was stronger, the water seemed to be boiling there.

... From the side of Peschanaya Bay, at about 09:00, the ship's masts appeared, and then the ship itself. I noticed him first. During the course, the ship made some incomprehensible zigzags and apparently could not catch the wind with its nose. I did not see any bulky cargo on deck, it was difficult to see because of the distance and visibility. Then the ship leveled off and went towards the cape, and I stopped watching it.

... Then Cheremnykh turned to Babkin and shouted: “He turned over!” I looked and saw that the vessel, in my opinion, was lying on its side, and after 30 seconds I saw the completely red bottom and propellers. After about 5 minutes, one person appeared, then a second and a third. The ship was kept afloat for about 20-25 minutes. The ship constantly turned around in the water and it went further out to sea. Whirlwinds constantly swirled around the ship; they often hid the ship. In my opinion, the wind speed was up to 50 m / s, even pebbles the size of a fingernail were carried. The ship disappeared. The wind died down somehow imperceptibly. At about 5 pm we started boating. Cheremnykh noticed some objects on the water and seagulls were flying over them. Right on us, two life buoys were carried out of the water, on which G-314 IUGMS (1) was written. Also took out a canister from

motor Neptune and from the motor Whirlwind. They were very rumpled." (2)

All the people who witnessed the disaster say that the weather began to deteriorate on August 1, but none of the radio stations reported a change in weather conditions.

Panov Yuri Andreevich: “... On August 1, we were on a sailing boat near Krasny Yar. Because of the danger of the mountain wind, I tied the boat tightly. At 2 o'clock in the morning the mountain began, I woke up from its noise. The boats were tethered. I didn't sleep all night. At 9 o'clock I sawas a ship was coming from the side of Buguldeyka, it was listing to the port side. He walked among whirlwinds and tornadoes and substituted the board for the mountain one. But the ship passed and disappeared behind the cape. We returned to the winter quarters. Gladkov took the camera and went to shoot the raging Baikal. Suddenly he screamed. We jumped out of the winter hut, he pointed to the horizon. There lay a large vessel upside down. A few minutes later, the figure of a man appeared, he crawled along the bottom and grabbed the steering wheel. Then two more figures appeared and joined him. The ship was heading east. The ship disappeared among the tornadoes and spray. We talked among ourselves, seeing how people were dying before our eyes, but we could not do anything, although people were dying before our eyes. A kilometer from the coast, I saw a red bottom and three dots on it, and then everything disappeared.(3)

Panov says that Gladkov filmed the raging Baikal. Gladkov was a Muscovite. When they found out that he had a film, on the day of departure he was found at the station and persuaded to give the film. But a completely incomprehensible story came out with it - indeed, Baikal does not part with secrets - when developing, the entire emulsion was washed away.

Another witness, Kozlov Oleg Dmitrievich, tells:

“... I turned on the radio, but the weather was transmitted only in Irkutsk, Buryatia also did not say anything about Baikal, although the unimaginable was happening at the sea, it seemed to be shaken from below. Tornadoes walked along the sea, they fell on the shore in fountains, as if it was raining. The wind lifted the pebbles into the air. Our boat was thrown ashore, there was such a sound as if a large egg had been crushed. The boat was blown to pieces. We went to the yachtsmen to talk about boats (that is, we went to the winter hut - auth.). One of them went to take pictures on the shore, then we heard his terrible cry: “Guys!” Seen at 1.5 km. from the shore the ship lies on its side. Five minutes later it turned upside down. Three climbed to the helm. Then it disappeared.

On the water floated a bench, a tank, a measuring pole, a spin with a number, a large box with holes, a nylon barrel. There was a lot of bread floating in the water."(4)

Cheremnykh Vladimir Mikhailovich says:

“... At the time of the accident, we were south of the lighthouse at Cape Krasny Yar. We were walking from a vacation on the Small Sea with comrades. We stopped at Krasny Yar due to worsening weather. (Aug. 1, 1983 - author). At 12 o'clock at night from 1 to 2 August they went to bed. The tent was torn down and by 7 am it was completely torn down.

At about 8 o'clock the boats with damages washed up on the shore.

At about 9 o'clock in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bCape Dyrovaty (Arka) I saw a boat (Cheremnykh calls the ship "Shokalsky" a boat - author).

The boat with a white superstructure was heading north, the boat behind the wheelhouse was gray. The boat was moving smoothly without swaying and there were no fears for its fate. There were no people or cargo on deck.

For 2 or 3 kilometers, he began to prowl, got into a squall wind. The wind changed from the southwest, then from the southeast, while the boat heeled. After that, I began to watch him incessantly.

The ship appeared abeam our parking lot, but at 9-30 the heavy wind intensified. And there was a wall coming from the north. I turned for a moment towards the fire, and when I looked back towards the lake, the ship was already upside down. There were no floating objects. The squall wind intensified even more and even tore off the pebbles from the sandy strip. There were high waves of about 20-30 m (5), with a front of 50-100 meters, which from time to time formed water tornadoes 20 m high, which went in different directions and reappeared in 30-40 seconds. The pillars were made of water droplets. The sky was shattered with flashes of blue. And above the middle of Baikal the sky was completely clear and blue.

When the ship was sailing bottom up, after 5 - 8 minutes a man appeared in the bow of the bottom and ran to the helm. Five minutes later, two people appeared. The ship was still afloat for 10-15 minutes.

People were in one place, the ship turned around, tornadoes continued to arise. A tornado arose, a wall of spray covered the ship, and when the wall disappeared there was neither a ship nor people.

By noon, the storm began to subside. By 17 o'clock to the right of the death of the ship, I saw several dark objects through a telescope, including a barrel. And there were a lot of seagulls. At 5:00 pm, one of the friends went to the place of death and brought a measuring pole, a red seat, a 20-liter can of gasoline and a dented fuel tank from an outboard motor. Later, foam plastic, two lifebuoys with the inscription G-314 and the letters IUGKS were washed ashore, and even later a wooden ladder.

Schoolchildren from Buguldeyka and three yachtsmen were on the shore during the storm.

About two hours after the sinking of the ship, a ship passed to the north, whose ownership was not established.

At about 20:00, the boat "Kazanka" (a man and a woman) passed by, we stopped them and asked them to report the death to the authorities in Buguldeyka.

03.08 we went to Irkutsk and in the port of Baikal reported what had happened.

For 20 years during which I have been to Baikal, I have not seen such phenomena.

I worked on the Kara Sea, on the Laptev Sea, there was nothing like that either.

After the storm on August 2, at about 17-18 hours, transverse bands appeared in the sky, which quickly went from West to East. ”(6)

The search operations carried out did not find any of the crew members of the lost ship, they also did not find the ship itself, its whereabouts are unknown.

All the necessary investigative measures were taken and in the decision to terminate the criminal case by investigator V.M. Seryogin writes: « ... in the area of ​​Krasny Yar near the western shore of Lake Baikal, fell into the zone of action of an unpredictable, extremely rare local hazardous phenomenon with the formation of tornadoes and a wind speed significantly exceeding the wind limits for this vessel specified in the ship's documents, as a result of which the vessel capsized and sank . »

In October 1983, all the relatives of the victims got together and went ashore near Krasny Yar, then it became an annual tradition. And the grief was still so fresh, his heart was so painful that Sergei Sklyanov's father could not stand it, rushed to Baikal and swam, probably in a desperate attempt to see the silhouette of the lost ship through the water column. They managed to intercept him already quite far from the coast.

The summer of 1993 was unusually hot. Baikal dozed lazily on the banks. And suddenly a rumor spread that they had seen the red bottom of the ship from a helicopter; he hung near the abyss on the teeth of underwater rocks. But it was only a rumor.

Hope lives until the very last minute, and Baikal does not part with its secret, it is indifferent to the fate of people.

NOTES

1.IUGMS - witnesses incorrectly name the abbreviation; followed by IUGKS - Irkutsk Territorial Administration for Meteorology and Environmental Control.

2. Case No. 30508 on the fact of the death of the ship "Shokalsky" and all members of the ship's crew, which occurred on August 2, 1983 in the area of ​​Cape Krasny Yar. - Archive of the Irkutsk Transport Prosecutor's Office. - l.d. 135-136.

Z.Ibid., l.d. 138-139.

4. Ibid., l.d. 123-124. 5. Probably a mistake, the witness wanted to say 2 -Sm.

b.See note 2, l.105-107.

Akademik Shokalsky is a small ice class cruise ship owned by the Russian Federation and operated by the Australian operator Aurora Expeditions, was built in 1982

in Finland for polar and oceanographic research. Named after the Russian and Soviet geographer, oceanographer and cartographer Lieutenant General and Academician Yuli Shokalsky.

The ship was built in 1982 in Finland for polar and oceanographic research and has an UL ice class. The size of the vessel allows you to go where larger ships will not pass. "Akademik Shokalsky" takes 46 passengers on trips to the Arctic and 48 passengers on cruises to the Antarctic.
The vessel has 26 sea view cabins (including the 23.2 m² Amundsen Suite) and has undergone several upgrades and redesigns (2008).

On December 25, 2013, a ship with 74 Australian scientists, tourists and crew members on board got stuck in the Antarctic ice 1.5 thousand nautical miles (2.7 thousand km) from Hobart.
Early in the morning of December 25, a distress signal was received from the ship. Three icebreakers were sent to rescue him, but they were powerless to help the Russian ship.
On January 2, 2014, all the passengers of the ship were evacuated by helicopter from the Xue Long ship to the Aurora Australis icebreaker, while the Xue Long icebreaker also turned out to be icebound 20 km from the Akademik Shokalsky. On January 7, as a result of ice movement, a wide crack formed near the Akademik Shokalsky vessel and it began to move at a speed of seven knots towards the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long.
January 8, 2014 "Akademik Shokalsky" finally freed from ice captivity and came to clean water.

On board

Cabin-campaign, dining room team.

Lecture hall.

Salon and bar.

Library.

Satellite connection.

Expeditionary doctor and outpatient clinic.

From the research vessels of Russia, only beautiful names remained: "Academician Korolev", "Academician Kurchatov", "Academician Shokalsky". Entrepreneurial people have made a fuss and use them for cruises. So the "Akademik Shokalsky" with tourists and several Australian climatologists went to Antarctica to get new data on global warming. But on the 16th day, global warming came to an end and the ship ran into ice.

TOURISTS KEEP THE FLEET afloat

On November 24, 2013, the Russians were informed that the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalsky was covered with ice near the coast of Antarctica and was asking for help. And soon we learned that "Akademik Shokalsky" has not been serving the benefit of Russian science for a long time. Converted into a cruise ship, it earns money for its Australian operator Aurora Expeditions by making tourist cruises to Antarctica one after another, and there is not a single Russian scientist on board the ship in distress. In 2012, the Akademik made three commercial flights along the same route to commemorate the 1912 landing in Antarctica by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson.

Information agencies reported that the Akademik Shokalsky was carrying out work commissioned by the Australian Antarctic Expedition. In reality, he continued to work for a tour operator who made good money on the desire of a group of Australian climatologists to make a comfortable Christmas cruise with sponsor money. At the same time, tourists who paid for the cruise out of their own pocket went on a voyage on the Akademik Shokalsky. All cabins have been sold. At the same time, the vessel belongs to the federal budgetary enterprise - the Vladivostok-based Hydrometflot, which is subordinate to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.

The Antarctic epic "Academician Shokalsky" once again reminded of the sad fate of the disintegrated Russian scientific fleet. This ship was named after the outstanding Russian geographer and oceanographer Yuli Shokalsky. It was built in Finland in 1982 and equipped with the most modern scientific equipment at that time. But then the ship was overhauled into a tourist liner with the famous Amundsen suite. On board are two expensive restaurants with a daily changing menu, a saloon and a bar with a wide selection of wines. "Akademik" works in the Arctic in summer, in winter it is transferred to the Antarctic summer. The thirteen-day cheapest cruise to the Kuril Islands on it will cost from $8,450 in a triple cabin without amenities, that is, with only one washbasin, and you will have to pay $12,050 for sailing in the captain's suite. Exactly the same business, far from scientific research, is carried out by other former flagships of the Soviet oceanographic fleet, such as Akademik Vavilov and Akademik Ioffe.

It is possible that soon the "Akademik Shokalsky" will be sent for another repair and will be given some new loud English name. As it happened with the similar vessel "Professor Khromov". Now the operating company Ocean Adventures has renamed it the Spirit of Enderby, and they suggested forgetting about Professor Khromov. "Our chefs will delight you with international cuisine made from the freshest ingredients," the cruise dealers promise. At the same time, the Spirit of Enderby still continues to be listed as a Russian research vessel.

But the "Akademik Shuleikin" turned into a Polar Pioneer with 29 cabins for 54 people. Swimming on it to Antarctica in a double room will cost at least $ 8,700.

IN THE TRAILS OF THE "MAN-EATER"

The journey of Australian tourists on the "Akademik Shokalsky" was also not cheap. According to the Daily Mail, it cost 900,000 British pounds. Australian Antarctic researchers have declared it their goal to obtain new data confirming global warming in Antarctica. The ship was also boarded by a member of the Australian Parliament from the Green Party, as well as journalists from the Guardian and the BBC, promoting the theory of global warming. But on the 16th day of the journey, global warming came to an end and the ship ran into ice. The conquerors of Antarctica obviously could not appreciate the seriousness of their situation and cheerfully reported that the wind should soon drive the ice away from them. However, this Antarctic summer turned out to be somehow wrong, the ice, instead of melting, as it should at this time of the year, on the contrary, grew, impressive hummocks appeared around the Akademik.

Perhaps it was not worth the participants to dedicate a cruise to the memory of Sir Douglas Mawson and follow in his Antarctic footsteps, given how Mawson's fateful Antarctic epic ended. In December 1912, one of the expedition members fell into a deep ice crevasse, most of the supplies, the tent and the best dogs were lost with him. Mawson and his companion, champion skier Javier Mertz, had to travel 300 miles to base camp with only a week and a half of food left. Renowned historian David Day, in his nonfiction book, recounted how Mawson and Mertz ate all the remaining dogs, unknowingly poisoning their livers. According to one version, Mertz went crazy and died, according to another, as Day describes it, Mawson deliberately killed his companion and ate him, only this allowed him to reach the goal barely alive. There was no other way for him to survive.

CLIMATE DID NOT OBEY PROFESSOR

If you look at photographs of Antarctica at the beginning of the 20th century, made including by Mawson, then this part of Antarctica was covered with ice to a much lesser extent than it happens in the 21st century. Then in the bay where the Akademik Shokalsky got stuck today, there was not a single piece of ice. Now, three icebreakers, which themselves were under the threat of ice captivity, could not break the ice thickness.

Australians vainly assure the public that the current ice is still the result of global warming. They do not say that in reality the area covered by ice in Antarctica has reached two million square kilometers, which is much more than in 1981 and 2010. But climatologists, including those who were on board the ship, have recently stated that by the summer of 2020 the Antarctic waters will be completely free of ice. But this summer, the area of ​​ice cover has increased by almost 30 percent compared to last year.

The Daily Mail writes that all the blame for the catastrophe of the expedition lies with its leader, Chris Turney, a professor at the University of South Wells. A geographer by training, he argues that carbon dioxide emissions will lead to a climate catastrophe and must be curtailed immediately. He made a brilliant career on this hypothesis, made connections with influential politicians. At the same time, he is the main shareholder of Carbonscape Holdings Ltd, which develops and implements methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

When the Russian ship sent the SOS, it was only two nautical miles from clear water, seven days later the sea moved 20 miles. In some places, the thickness of the ice reached five meters. It seems that all the ice of Antarctica has gathered around the Akademik Shokalsky. Disputes began among tourists and scientists, someone blamed the enterprising professor for what happened, who led the ship into an ice trap and neglected the critical ice situation that was developing in this area. The Russian crew of the ship had only to obediently follow the instructions of the cruise organizers. Another indication that these scientists did not know much about the Antarctic ice was their belief that one of the icebreakers was about to break through to help. But they were not able to break the ice, which reached more than three meters in thickness. On January 2, 52 passengers of the Akademik Shokalsky were delivered by helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker to a floating ice floe, and from there they were transported to an Australian ship. And the Russian crew will have to stay on board their ship, possibly for a few more weeks. The captain intends to wait until the ice breaks. There is another option - to use the help of a powerful American icebreaker. It is said that a sufficient supply of food remains on the ship and the Russians will not have to starve.

Nikolai Ivanov

Photo WIKIPEDIA

The Russian ship Akademik Shokalsky, chartered by New Zealand researchers, got stuck in the ice. Three icebreakers have already gone to the rescue. They promise to rescue scientists from captivity within 70 hours. On Wednesday morning, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received a distress call from the Akademik Shokalsky, which was blocked by ice approximately 1.5 thousand nautical miles (2.7 thousand kilometers) from Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Hobart. It was initially reported that the ship, carrying more than 70 people, was on a cruise voyage in Antarctica. However, later Roshydromet clarified that Akademik Shokalsky was performing work on the order of the Australian Antarctic Expedition and was conducting observations off the coast of Antarctica in the D-Urville Sea area. XUE LONG (PRC), L icebreaking class vessels were sent to the area where Akademik Shokalsky was located. Astrolab (France) and Aurora Australius (Australia). Roshydromet also said that the ship received minor damage to the outer skin, there is no threat to the crew and passengers, RIA Novosti reports. “On December 24, during the completion of work, due to a sharp deterioration in weather conditions, the vessel was blocked by heavy ice, the movement of the vessel turned out to be impossible. During the inspection of the vessel, a rupture of the outer skin was found on the starboard side, 1.8 meters above the waterline. The damage does not pose a danger to the crew and passengers, work to eliminate the crack is being carried out by the crew of the R/V Akademik Shokalsky, Roshydromet told RIA Novosti. The representative of Roshydromet noted that the ship stuck in the ice can be released in two days, when other ships arrive to help it, now nothing threatens the crew and passengers. “Nothing terrible happened. The ship was literally a couple of miles short of getting out of the dangerous ice drift. Now they are waiting for passing vessels, icebreakers, which will rescue them from there. I think within two days they will come. Everyone on board is safe and sound, the ship has no damage, there is nothing dangerous for the crew and everyone who is there. But we just have to move on,” the source said. According to him, the vessel is leased by a New Zealand company, and a group of scientists is on board. He added that Roshydromet would not have to pay for the rescue operation, if necessary: ​​"This is the problem of the company that chartered it (the ship)." In turn, the director of the Far Eastern Regional Research Hydrometeorological Institute (FERHMI), Yuri Volkov, said that the vessel was insured against unforeseen situations, but did not specify the insurance company and the amount of insurance. “Insured for a normal amount, just enough,” he said. According to Volkov, the specialists of the Far Eastern Research Institute are in touch with the vessel blocked by ice. To eliminate the risk, it was decided to contact AMSA. It is expected that in a day, three icebreakers passing nearby will be able to approach the Akademik Shokalsky and take it out of ice captivity. “There are more than 70 people on board, including about 50 scientists, including from New Zealand, as well as 23 crew members. Everyone on board is fine. Nothing threatens their life and health,” the source said. AMSA spokesman Andrea Hayward-Maer, in turn, told ITAR-TASS that the ship "does not have any structural damage." "It's safe, which is good news," she said. - We are closely monitoring developments and we have a plan of action in case the situation worsens. We rely on icebreakers, but as a last resort we will carry out an evacuation.” Australian expedition leader Chris Turney, who was previously aboard the Akademik Shokalsky, tweeted that "help is expected in about 30 hours." Hayward-Maer said she thought the forecast was "somewhat optimistic" but "doesn't think it's impossible as it all depends on the weather." Turney also said that the air temperature overboard fluctuated around minus 1 degrees this afternoon (it's summer in Antarctica). “Like the explorers of the past, we found ourselves in the ice,” the expedition leader wrote. - Everything is fine. Everyone's mood is upbeat. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas." Marine expert Mikhail Voitenko noted that the speed of saving the Akademik Shokalsky depends on which ships are sent to help him. “If vessels of approximately the same ice class are sent for rescue as the Akademik Shokalsky vessel, then it is doubtful that they can help him in any way. Unless there are helicopters on board, with the help of which people can be evacuated. In addition, it is possible that the ship will be able to free itself from ice captivity when, for example, the wind changes. But if he is seriously stuck in heavy ice, then a good icebreaker is needed for effective and quick rescue, ”Voitenko told the VZGLYAD newspaper. He noted that the process of rescuing stuck ships is quite costly, the bill goes somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars. But the amount is calculated from the time spent on the operation and the type of evacuation vessel. The Akademik Shokalsky vessel is operated by the Australian operator Aurora Expeditions, but is owned by the Russian Federation and assigned to the port of Vladivostok. It was built in 1982 and was originally intended for oceanographic research. The length of the vessel is 71 meters, the displacement is 2140 tons, the speed is 14 knots. Fuel tanks of the NIS are designed for 320 tons of oil products, water tanks - for 250 tons of fresh water. The size of the vessel allows you to go where larger ships will not pass. "Akademik Shokalsky" takes 46 passengers on trips to the Arctic and 48 passengers on cruises to the Antarctic. The vessel has 26 staterooms with sea views (including the 23.2 sq. meter Amundsen Suite) and underwent several upgrades and redesigns in 2008. On board there are two restaurants, a lecture hall, a salon and a bar, a library, an expeditionary doctor and an outpatient clinic, as well as satellite communications.