CANBERRA, Australia — An Australian icebreaker carrying 52 passengers who were retrieved from an icebound ship in the Antarctic resumed its journey home Saturday after it was halted for a second potential rescue operation.
The icebreaker Aurora Australis had been slowly cracking through thick ice toward open water after a Chinese ship’s helicopter plucked passengers from a stranded Russian research ship and carried them to an ice floe near the Aurora.
But Friday, the crew of a Chinese icebreaker that provided a helicopter said they were worried about their own ship’s ability to go through ice.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre, told the Aurora Friday to stay in the area in case help was needed.
But AMSA said the Aurora had been allowed on Saturday to continue its journey.