By The Associated Press
WELLINGTON, New Zealand --??A Russian fishing vessel with 32 crew members was in trouble and taking on water near Antarctica on Friday, with heavy sea ice hampering rescue efforts.
The vessel Sparta was listing at 13 degrees next to the Antarctic ice shelf in the Ross Sea, according to Maritime New Zealand. The agency said that the crew was safe and was throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship, and that some of the crew had boarded lifeboats as a precautionary measure.
The crew also was pumping water out of the vessel, the agency said in a statement.
The crew is made up of 15 Russians, 16 Indonesians and one Ukrainian, the agency said.
The Sparta, which is 180 feet (55 meters) long, sent a distress call early Friday. Maritime New Zealand said heavy ice in the Southern Ocean would make it difficult for other ships to reach the vessel.
The Sparta's sister ship Chiyo Maru No. 3 was 290 nautical miles away and heading toward the stricken vessel but had no capacity to cut through sea ice, the agency said. A New Zealand vessel with some ice-cutting ability was also en route, but was four or five days away. A third vessel was just 19 nautical miles away, but it was hemmed in by heavy ice and unable to move toward the Sparta.
Ramon Davis, who is coordinating rescue efforts with the agency, said a C-130 Hercules plane had arrived from Antarctica and flew over the scene to assess ice conditions in the area in order to speed up the rescue efforts. But Davis said the aircraft would not be able to pick up the crew.
Davis said 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.
The crew has some emergency immersion suits that could keep them alive for a time in freezing water, Maritime New Zealand said.
The weather in the area was calm, with temperatures a relatively mild 37 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius).
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