Post by Stew on Nov 25, 2009 22:38:41 GMT
A flotilla of hundreds of icebergs that split off Antarctic ice shelves is drifting toward New Zealand and could endanger ships in the south Pacific Ocean, experts said.
The nearest one, about 30 meters high, was 160 miles south east of New Zealand's Stewart Island, Australian glaciologist Neal Young said.
He could not say how many icebergs in total were roaming the Pacific, but counted 130 in one satellite image alone and 100 in another.
Large numbers of icebergs last floated close to New Zealand in 2006, when some were visible from the coastline - the first such sighting since 1931.
Maritime chiefs have issued navigation warnings for the area south of the country. "It's an alert to shipping to be aware these potential hazards are around and to be on the lookout for them," Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said.
No major shipping lanes or substantial fishing grounds are in the area, but most ships there have little hull protection if they collide with an iceberg - which typically has 90% of its mass under water.
Maritime New Zealand safety services general manager Nigel Clifford said as the icebergs drift closer "the more the potential risks grow of them posing a hazard to shipping" as they break up and float lower in - or just under - the ocean surface.
The agency was "keeping a close eye on the increasing risk ... it's tracking iceberg positions and has begun initial planning for any incident", he said.
He said the area is not a major shipping lane, with commercial fishing vessels and a limited number of passenger cruise ships passing through and reporting positions for the drifting ice.
New Zealand oceanographer Mike Williams said the icebergs were drifting at a speed of about 16 miles a day and believed most would not reach New Zealand, as happened during the last major flotilla in 2006 when "a lot of them went out east (carried by ocean currents and wind) away from New Zealand".
The nearest one, about 30 meters high, was 160 miles south east of New Zealand's Stewart Island, Australian glaciologist Neal Young said.
He could not say how many icebergs in total were roaming the Pacific, but counted 130 in one satellite image alone and 100 in another.
Large numbers of icebergs last floated close to New Zealand in 2006, when some were visible from the coastline - the first such sighting since 1931.
Maritime chiefs have issued navigation warnings for the area south of the country. "It's an alert to shipping to be aware these potential hazards are around and to be on the lookout for them," Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said.
No major shipping lanes or substantial fishing grounds are in the area, but most ships there have little hull protection if they collide with an iceberg - which typically has 90% of its mass under water.
Maritime New Zealand safety services general manager Nigel Clifford said as the icebergs drift closer "the more the potential risks grow of them posing a hazard to shipping" as they break up and float lower in - or just under - the ocean surface.
The agency was "keeping a close eye on the increasing risk ... it's tracking iceberg positions and has begun initial planning for any incident", he said.
He said the area is not a major shipping lane, with commercial fishing vessels and a limited number of passenger cruise ships passing through and reporting positions for the drifting ice.
New Zealand oceanographer Mike Williams said the icebergs were drifting at a speed of about 16 miles a day and believed most would not reach New Zealand, as happened during the last major flotilla in 2006 when "a lot of them went out east (carried by ocean currents and wind) away from New Zealand".