Audio: In Sung 1 intercept
The Aurora Australis intercepts a south Korean fishing boat.
Part 5 : Close encounters on high sea
A crackly message is heard from the bridge over the radio. There’s another ship on the horizon. With news of anti-whaling activities in the Southern Ocean, interest is keen. Binoculars stay trained on what looks like a fishing vessel.
Under the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act they are required, in their role as inspectors, to report information on all vessels sighted. We steam close by and make radio contact as we tick over alongside. Before long the bridge is crowded and the decks fill with our own paparazzi keen for close-ups and we intercept the South Korean fishing vessel, the In Sung No 1.
Days later the adventure continues. A window of opportunity has opened. We are close to the giant iceberg B-17A, which calved from the Ross Ice Shelf in April 2000. It is 35 km long and appears to have become grounded here in 2006. A small crew in the Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) will take a party to collect some special water samples.
Testing the waters around B-17A is Tank’s extra project. He wants to find out if icebergs are a source of trace elements, such as Iron that would provide nutrients to the ecosystem and promote the growth of plankton. But the FRC has mechanical problems…
Jean François and Sam mend the trawl nets.