Xue-Long

On Jan 19, 2019, at 10.45 a.m. the "Xue Long" collided with an iceberg in the Amundsen Sea on the outskirts of the Antarctic continent. The icebreaker was on its 35th expedition to the Antarctic and was caught in a thick fog when the accident took place while traveling at a speed of about three knots. Damage was detected at the mast at the vessel's front and at part of its bulwark. Other equipment on board, including the power and the telecommunication systems, were working properly. The Ministry of Natural Resources organized repairs and will make follow-up scientific exploration plans. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=8Drds_pkx5M

A small boat crew from the patrol boat "Alex Haley" safely medevaced a man suffering a broken arm from the "Xue Long" 15 nautical miles from Nome, Alaska, in the morning of Sep 23, 2017. US Coast Guard District 17 command center watchstanders received a relay notification from a Coast Guard liaison to China who reported a Chinese national aboard the "Xue Long" suffered a broken arm while conducting research in the Arctic Ocean. Watchstanders directed the "Xue Long" to travel 15 miles offshore from Nome, where the Coast Guard conducted the medevac. The smallboat crew embarked the man and transferred him to the "Alex Haley" for further transfer to Nome. Report with photo: http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guard-medevacs-man-from-chinese-research-vessel-near-nome/2017/09/24/

China has launched its 32nd Antarctic expedition with the research vessel and icebreaker Xue Long, or Snow Dragon, leaving a Shanghai dock on Saturday, Nov. 7. A team of 277 researchers will make the 159-day round trip of 30,000 nautical miles (55,500 kilometers). The researchers will conduct a final survey for the country's fifth Antarctic station site at Victoria Land on the Ross Sea, mapping the site and assessing the ecological and environmental impacts, according to the team's deputy chief Sun Bo. Team members will also conduct research around Changcheng, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun stations, as well as Prydz Bay, the Ross Sea, the Amundsen Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula, reports local media. The vessel will also help Australia to ship cargo from the Australian port of Fremantle to Casey Station. http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/china-launches-antarctic-expedition