Rescue ships are racing to save a Russian crew who have taken to lifeboats after their fishing ship hit an iceberg.
The stricken Sparta is listing at 13 degrees in waters in the Ross Sea near Antarctica with a 5ft (1.5metres) gaping hole in the hull below the waterline.
Holed: The stricken Russian fishing boat Sparta which has launched some lifeboats for the 32-strong crew
But vessels speeding towards it are being hampered by heavy sea ice and are unlikely to reach the the area - about 2,000 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand - for four to five days.
Holed: The stricken Russian fishing boat Sparta which has launched some lifeboats for the 32-strong crew
Mayday: The Sparta radioed an SOS after hitting an iceberg as it fished in the Ross Sea off Antarctica
After the Sparta began taking on water, cargo was thrown overboard to lighten the ship and raise the waterline, while some of the 32-strong crew boarded lifeboats as a precaution.
Officials at the Maritime New Zealand said that much of the incoming water had been pumped out and crew had had attached a tarpaulin over the outside of the hole to slow the water flooding in.
The crew have asked for more pumps to be sent to them and will try and make repairs to the hull, but the agency is still trying to figure out a way to deliver the vital equipment.
The crew has some emergency immersion suits that could keep them alive for a time in freezing water.
"It's a very remote, unforgiving environment," said Andrew Wright, executive secretary of the Australian-based Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which has licensed the Sparta to catch toothfish in the Southern Ocean.
Rescue: The Sparta which is licensed to catch toothfish. It may take four to five days for a rescue vessel to arrive
Mr Wright said he didn't know what caused the hole, although he added an iceberg 'would be a good candidate.'
The 157ft (48 metres) long Sparta, built in 1988 and captained by Russian Oleg Pavlovich Starolat, sent a distress call early today.
Its sister ship, Chiyo Maru No. 3, was 290 nautical miles away and heading toward the stricken vessel but has no capacity to cut through sea ice, the agency said.
A New Zealand vessel, the San Aspiring, had some ice-cutting ability and was also en route, but was four or five days away. A third vessel was just 19 nautical miles from the scene, but it was hemmed in by heavy ice and unable to move.
Ramon Davis, who is coordinating rescue efforts for Maritime New Zealand, said a C-130 Hercules plane that arrived from Antarctica flew over the scene to assess ice conditions in the area to speed up the rescue efforts.
But Mr Davis said the aircraft would not be able to pick up the crew. There were no helicopters in the area and that another vessel remained the most viable option for trying to rescue the crew.
'It is possible the crew will have a fairly long wait for rescue,' he said.
Commission records list the captain of the Sparta, which was built in 1988, as Oleg Pavlovich Starolat, who is Russian.
The weather in the area was calm, with temperatures a relatively mild 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius).
The stricken Sparta is listing at 13 degrees in waters in the Ross Sea near Antarctica with a 5ft (1.5metres) gaping hole in the hull below the waterline.
Holed: The stricken Russian fishing boat Sparta which has launched some lifeboats for the 32-strong crew
But vessels speeding towards it are being hampered by heavy sea ice and are unlikely to reach the the area - about 2,000 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand - for four to five days.
Holed: The stricken Russian fishing boat Sparta which has launched some lifeboats for the 32-strong crew
Mayday: The Sparta radioed an SOS after hitting an iceberg as it fished in the Ross Sea off Antarctica
After the Sparta began taking on water, cargo was thrown overboard to lighten the ship and raise the waterline, while some of the 32-strong crew boarded lifeboats as a precaution.
Officials at the Maritime New Zealand said that much of the incoming water had been pumped out and crew had had attached a tarpaulin over the outside of the hole to slow the water flooding in.
The crew have asked for more pumps to be sent to them and will try and make repairs to the hull, but the agency is still trying to figure out a way to deliver the vital equipment.
The crew has some emergency immersion suits that could keep them alive for a time in freezing water.
"It's a very remote, unforgiving environment," said Andrew Wright, executive secretary of the Australian-based Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which has licensed the Sparta to catch toothfish in the Southern Ocean.
Rescue: The Sparta which is licensed to catch toothfish. It may take four to five days for a rescue vessel to arrive
Mr Wright said he didn't know what caused the hole, although he added an iceberg 'would be a good candidate.'
The 157ft (48 metres) long Sparta, built in 1988 and captained by Russian Oleg Pavlovich Starolat, sent a distress call early today.
Its sister ship, Chiyo Maru No. 3, was 290 nautical miles away and heading toward the stricken vessel but has no capacity to cut through sea ice, the agency said.
A New Zealand vessel, the San Aspiring, had some ice-cutting ability and was also en route, but was four or five days away. A third vessel was just 19 nautical miles from the scene, but it was hemmed in by heavy ice and unable to move.
Ramon Davis, who is coordinating rescue efforts for Maritime New Zealand, said a C-130 Hercules plane that arrived from Antarctica flew over the scene to assess ice conditions in the area to speed up the rescue efforts.
But Mr Davis said the aircraft would not be able to pick up the crew. There were no helicopters in the area and that another vessel remained the most viable option for trying to rescue the crew.
'It is possible the crew will have a fairly long wait for rescue,' he said.
Commission records list the captain of the Sparta, which was built in 1988, as Oleg Pavlovich Starolat, who is Russian.
The weather in the area was calm, with temperatures a relatively mild 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius).