ICE SLAB MENACES McMURDO CHANNEL

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28179, 18 January 1957, Page 10

ICE SLAB MENACES McMURDO CHANNEL

[From BRIAN O'NEILL, “The Press* correspondent with the United States Navy’s Antarctic Expedition]

Aboard U.S. Coastguard Icebreaker Northwind. McMURDO SOUND, Jan. 15.

A spanner was thrown in the American Task Force operations today when a 100-square-mile slab of McMurdo Sound ice threatened to block the sea channel and pinch a thin-skinned freighter discharging cargo.

As a freezing 20-knot south-east wind pivoted the gigantic iceblock into the channel cut into the sound by the Navy icebreaker Glacier last month, engineroom hands aboard the icebreaker Northwind and the transport Private John R. Towle were called back to duty. The ships cast off their moorings and steamed north to escape the slowly-pincering ice. The channel leading from the R

>ss Sea to within five miles of! the airstrip at Hut Point is not; yet closed, but fear of an acceler-i ated swing of the gigantic piece of' ice with millions of tons of pres-j sure behind it. which could crush' the Private T ohn R. Towle before; the icebreaker could assist, prompted precautionary action by! the task force commander <Rear- ' Admiral George J. Dufek). The Northwind, missing a com-1 plete blade of her starboard propeller after a mishap at Cape! Hallett last month, and, as a result.! with only 75 per cent, propulsion; power available, late to-night be-i gan ferrying the Private John R. Towle’s remaining cargo, 10,700, drums of fuel, mostly diesel oil. upchannel to a discharge point. From there sledge trains will haul! it over the ice to Hut Point. j The change in plans is expected to extend the Private John R. Towle’s estimated remaining 12-1 day unloading programme to at least 15 days. If the huge piece of ice is carried out of the sound on: a wind hourly increasing in force.! the freighter will be able to sail: back to her former berth for speedier unloading. Movement Detected The ice movement was detected by the Task Force’s staff officer, . Lieutenant Don M. Sullivan, flying, in a helicopter this afternoon. At! 2 p.m. he noticed a 20-mile-long-crack streaking west across the'

sound. The crack was then 10 feet at its widest. Four hours later Lieutenant Sullivan went aloft again and reported 30 feet of black water in the crack. While off-duty officers watched an F. 8.1. counter-espionage film in the Northwind’s wardroom, the icebreaker and the freighter dashed out of the way of the slowy-moving ice. By midnight the Northwind was taking aboard the first batch of drums of fuel to ferry it up the narrowing channel.

New Zealand Expedition The unpredicted and unpredictable ice change may complicate plans for the New Zealand expedition. H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour moved from a berth astern of the Private

John R. Towle this morning and put out for Butter Point. 40 miles

away, to pick up the Ferrar Glacier trail party. The ship had I not returned by late this evening. I 'Hie Knox Coast group comI prising the icebreaker Glacier and | the transports, Arneb and GreenI ville Victory, steamed out at noon ! today, their unloading in the sound completed, before complications j ! occurred. The tanker Nespelen is I lon her way to Melbourne. I The task force command is . i heartened by the diving tempera- 1 : ture today. It is down to 18 de- i grees Fahrenheit after 40-degree | weather in the last 10 days. The I biting wind makes for bitter work Iby cargo-handling crews, but lalready the colder weather has built two inches of ice on the 1 deteriorated airstrip, and hopes are ; building for an early return of the Air Force Globemasters for completition of their mission of airi dropping fuel and supplies at the South Pole and Byrd stations.