22 Feb 2008
McMurdo is located at the southernmost point in the world where for a couple months most years ships can make their way to solid ground, unencumbered by ice. This was not one of those years, and a heavy icebreaker had to smash a path through about 10 miles of ice in order to reach the station. Including the icebreaker, five ships visited the station this year.




The first ship to arrive was the Oden, a world-class icebreaker flagged in Sweden and owned by the Swedish government, but operated by a private Swedish company. It spent several days smashing its way from the open (although filled with icebergs) waters of the Ross Sea to McMurdo. We used to exclusively use two US Coast Guard icebreakers, but the icebreakers have fallen into disrepair and they couldn't match the cost or the expertise (due to the high turnover of military captains and mates) of a contracted icebreaker. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


In the satellite photo one can see the route smashed by the icebreaker. Image from the USAP.


Bridge of the Oden. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


The first cargo ship in was the Lawrence H. Gianella, a US-flagged MSC tanker. It carried a year's supply of JP-5 for the power plant, heaters, and heavy equipment, AN-8 for shipment to field camps and the South Pole and for aircraft bound for the Pole, and automotive gasoline. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


The US research vessel Nathaniel B Palmer tied up to the side of the Gianella. The Palmer is ice strengthened but is not an ice breaker, being unable to handle ice more than 3ft thick. The Palmer is owned and operated by a company that normally works in the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico. The Palmer was a weird ship, seeming bizarely clean and underutilized. During its first or second visit to McMurdo the Palmer's captain got into a drunken fight and was sent home. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


The Gianella, Oden, and Palmer. The hut underneath the Oden was built by Scott's party during his Discovery Expedition. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


When the Gianella left the American Tern pulled in. The Tern is a US-flagged MSC cargo vessel and carried most of the year's shipment of supplies. They brought in 600+ conex's of supplies and took out 300-400+ conex's full of trash and other items to be sent back to New Zealand and the US. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


The Oden tied to the side of the Tern. Photo by myself, and I release it to the public domain.


The last ship to show up was a small cruise ship. It arrived shortly after the departure of the Tern and the Oden, and only stayed for one day. It did not dock at the ice pier, but shuttled its guests into town by private helicopter. Photographer unknown.


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