24hr work on Southern Cross

Press, 19 February 1983, Page 6

24hr work on Southern Cross

Round-the-clock work on the United States Navy Antarctic supply ship Southern Cross at McMurdo Station means the ship will complete her turnround before the ice wharf there breaks up completely. The Southern Cross left Lyttelton on February 11 for her second trip to McMurdo Station. Cracking and breaking up of the ice wharf there meant the ship had to get back for her final turnround while there was still enough working space on the ice wharf.

The useable space had reduced from about 150 metres earlier in the summer, to about 50 metres when the Southern Cross made her first visit. The reduced working space meant the ship was. less accessible and took longer to load and unload. The terminal operations

officer of the United States Naval Support Force, Antarctica. Captain C. C. Hall, said that the Southern Cross was scheduled to leave McMurdo Station for Lyttelton today, arriving on Wednesday. The terminal operations officer in Antarctica. Major Larry Perry, reported that the unloading work at McMurdo Station had been carried out around the clock in conditions that included a wind chill factor of —48 deg. When the Southern Cross returns to Lyttelton she will undergo repairs to a cargo pedestal supporting boom. About 170 passengers are expected to arrive aboard the ship. The last flight to McMurdo Station for the 1982-83 summer season will be made from Christchurch on Wednesday morning.