The ''Sparta'' is a 48-metre (157-foot) Russian-flagged fishing trawler and refrigerator ship.

Ross Sea accident

On 16 December 2011 the ''Sparta'' sent out a distress signal after it struck a submerged

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

while fishing for Antarctic cod in the Ross Sea. The accident left the vessel holed below the waterline and sinking close to the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between hi ...

and approximately south-east of New Zealand. The

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

twice sent Hercules aircraft on seven-hour flights from Christchurch to air-drop equipment. (The planes had to refuel at

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...

in Antarctica before returning to base.) The air-drops allowed the 32-man crew to pump out the flooded hold, make temporary repairs and stabilise the listing ship. Pack ice meant nearby vessels, such as the Norwegian ''Seljevaer'' and ''Sparta's'' Russian

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

''Chiyo Maru 3'', were unable to come to ''Sparta's'' aid. The crew of the ''Sparta'', made up of 16

Indonesians Indonesians (Indonesian: ''orang Indonesia'') are citizens or people originally from Indonesia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. There are more than 1,300 ethnicities in Indonesia, making it a multicultural archipelagic coun ...

, 15 Russians and a Ukrainian researcher, had to wait until 26 December 2011 when the South Korean icebreaker ''

RV Araon RV ''Araon'' is a large icebreaker operated by the Government of South Korea. The vessel was commissioned in 2009. She supplies the King Sejong Station, and the Jang Bogo Station, South Korea's second Antarctic research station. She underwent ...

'' arrived. One of the ''Araon's'' first tasks was to pump

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

into the raised side of the ''Sparta'', thus lifting the damaged hull and exposing it to the air. ''Sparta'' was stuck for 12 days before repairs could be made and it could head for safety in

Port Nelson, New Zealand Port Nelson, as its name suggests, is the main port area of Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson, New Zealand. It lies to the northwest of Nelson city centre, to the north of Washington Valley, New Zealand, Washington Valley, at the southern end of Nelso ...

. With the ship's fate in the balance,

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...

David Ainley had criticised the system of fishing permits that allowed "underpowered, single-hulled boats" to operate in the area and the costs involved in rescuing them. Ecologist Alexei Knishkikov added his concern for local marine wildlife, should any of the ''Sparta's'' 200 tons of light fuel oil leak into the sea. In the event, only a little hydraulic oil spilled into the water.

References

Fishing vessels Fishing in Russia Merchant ships of Russia {{Merchantship-stub