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Antarctica, november 2007

A Russian cruise ship that has been struggling for days to pass through a huge chunk of ice has finally broken free and reached open water off of the coast of Antarctica.

The Captain Khlebnikov icebreaker, which was carrying 101 passengers, got jammed up in the ice earlier this week in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. It took the troubled ship five days to free itself, according to Fareastern Shipping Co. spokesperson Tatyana Kulikova.

Of course, my question would be, why does an icebreaker have 101 passengers on it in the first place? Didn't they realize that it might get stuck - in ice?

Kulikova says it should now take the icebreaker three more days to return to Ushuaia on the Argentine coast. It will be arriving one full week late, thanks to it getting stuck in the ice, ice baby.

Officials said the passengers never were in any danger.

The cruise was advertised as a unique opportunity to watch emperor penguins in their natural habitat. The Finnish-built icebreaker has been used as a cruise ship for several years and carries two helicopters.

Kulikova said the icebreaker is scheduled to make another Antarctic cruise in the fall.

Two-week tours aboard the Captain Khlebnikov to see emperor penguins range from $13,890 to $22,690 per person.

Ah, so that explains it. Shell out 20 grand to go see some penguins - then get stuck in ice for a week. Sounds like a real shindig. Think I'll stick to watching them on The Discovery Channel while sitting in front of my fireplace.

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