(RTTNews) - New Zealand maritime officials have issued navigation warnings for ships sailing in the South Pacific in connection with hundreds of icebergs floating, believed to have split off the Antarctic ice shelves and drifting north toward the country's southern shores, officials said Tuesday.
"It is an alert to shipping to be aware (that) these potential hazards are around and to be on the lookout for them," said a Maritime New Zealand officil.
The alert came three years after cold weather and favorable ocean currents saw dozens of icebergs float close to New Zealand's southern shores for the first time in 75 years.
Though no major shipping lanes or substantial fishing grounds are located in the area, most ships there have little hull- protection if they collide with an iceberg--which, typically, has 90% of its mass under water.
Australian glaciologist Neal Young said satellite images showed the group of icebergs, spread over a sea area of 620 miles (1000 kms) by 434 miles (700 kms), moving on ocean currents away from Antarctica. He counted 130 bergs in one image alone and 100 in another. He said the nearest one, about 30 meters high, was 160 miles (258 kms) south-east of New Zealand's Stewart Island.
Rodney Russ, expedition leader on the tourist ship Spirit of Enderby, spotted one iceberg Monday, 57 miles (92 kms) northeast of Macquarie Island and heading north--about 496 miles (800 km) south of New Zealand. It was up to 150 meters long and 25-30 meters high, he said.
Australian scientists reported four icebergs last week off Auckland Islands, 248 miles (400 kms) south of New Zealand, and heading slowly toward their neighboring country. Two weeks ago, they spotted 20 icebergs drifting north, past Macquarie Island.
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 his country as was the case in 2006 when large numbers of icebergs floated close, with some visible from the coastline--the first such sighting since 1931.
by RTT Staff Writer
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