Rescue Ship Arrives for Fishermen Stranded off Antarctica

A Russian fishing ship that has been stranded off Antarctica finally got help Monday when an icebreaker ship made it to the stricken vessel, New Zealand officials said. The Russian ship Sparta and its crew of 15 Russians, an Indonesian and a Ukrainian had been stuck for 10 days in icy waters more than 2,000 miles south of New Zealand. Other rescue ships had been unable to reach it, but the South Korean polar research ship Araon broke through ice to get there. According to the New Zealand officials, Araon's crew spent Monday feeding fuel into Sparta to raise it out of the water and expose a hole in its hull so that it could be repaired. The Sparta's crew had spent the last 10 days anxiously pumping frigid water from their vessel, having accepted air drops of hull patching equipment and pumps from New Zealand.

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