Three rescue ships are on their way to an Antarctic-bound liner trapped by ice floes 1500 nautical miles south of Hobart.
Follow the expedition leader's Twitter feed here
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a distress call on Christmas morning from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which embarked on a Spirit of Mawson voyage along the edge of Antarctica last month (Nov).
The Russian ship is carrying 50 passengers and 20 crew - including scientists, explorers and tourists.
AMSA says the passengers are safe, but warns the three ships sent to assist them will take at least two days to reach the stricken vessel.
The leader of the expedition, Chris Turney, has told the ABC they weren't expecting conditions to change so unexpectedly.
"We came into an area where we were getting hints there was big changes in ice melts and we certainly got the warnings, but it looked like the pack ice was closing in a little behind us, and we made the move and tried to get out as quickly as possible," he says.
"Unfortunately it closed in very, very quickly. It's very thick ice and as a result we're stuck at the moment."
The Guardian: How to file a story when you are trapped in Antarctic ice
