中俄船只冲出南极浮冰区

Reports from Antarctica say a Chinese icebreaker and a Russian research vessel broke free Tuesday from thick ice, with both vessels moving toward open waters.

China's official Xinhua news agency, reporting from on board the Xue Long, said the ship reached open waters late Tuesday Beijing time after spending nearly a week icebound. The breaker became trapped and isolated after using one of its helicopters to rescue passengers from the stranded Russian research ship Akademik Shokalskiy.

The Russian vessel left New Zealand November 28 trying to recreate Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's century-old voyage to Antarctica, before getting stuck December 24. The Chinese breaker got stuck after rescuing the Russian vessel's 52 passengers.

Authorities said late Tuesday the services of U.S. Coast Guard ice breaker Polar Star, dispatched earlier this week to help, were no longer needed. The ship will now continue on its original resupply mission to a key U.S. base on the frozen continent.来自南极的报道说，中国破冰船“雪龙号”和俄罗斯科学考察船“绍卡利斯基院士号”星期二冲出浮冰区，驶入净水域。

中国官方的新华社从“雪龙号”报道说，这艘破冰船困在浮冰区将近一星期后，于北京时间星期二晚间驶入净水域。 “雪龙号”上的直升机营救受困的“绍卡利斯基院士号”上的52名乘客后，这艘破冰船困在浮冰中。

“绍卡利斯基院士号”去年11月28日从新西兰启航，试图重走澳大利亚探险家莫森在1百年前的南极航程，于12月24日困在南极浮冰区。

有关当局星期二晚间说，美国海岸警卫队的破冰船“北极星号”本星期早些时候奉命启航救援，而现在已无必要，所以将继续执行原来的任务，为南极的一个美国基地运送给养。