Chilean Navy Heading To Aid 100-Meter Chinese Fishing Ship Adrift 30 Miles From Antarctic Coast
A Chilean military tugboat was heading to Antarctica on Thursday to prevent an environmental disaster by retrieving a Chinese fishing ship that caught fire and began to drift dangerously near sharp glaciers.
The Kai Xin vessel burned off the coast of Antarctica on Wednesday. Its 97 crew members were rescued by the Juvel, a Norwegian ship, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Chile's Bernardo O'Higgins research base near the Antarctic peninsula.
The Kai Xin is now unmanned, and a navy tugboat left port in Punta Arenas, near the southern tip of South America, to tow the ship to harbor. "The ship has been drifting in zigzags and circles at about 5 knots per hour. It's very close to glaciers and we've sent the tugboat in case it hits the coast causing an oil spill," said Capt. Juan Villegas, maritime governor for Chile's portion of Antarctica.
The Kai Xin left port in Uruguay and Chilean officials don't know how much fuel it's carrying. Fog forced Chile's air force to cancel a flight on Thursday to check on its condition.
EDIT
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chile-rushes-aid-ship-antarctica-fire-18987261#.UXEvKkr6WSp
