The crew of the stricken Russian fishing vessel Sparta has managed to stabilise the ship in the Southern Ocean but help is still days away.
The crew has fixed mooring lines to the nearby ice shelf to help steady the 48-metre long vessel and has managed to keep up with the water entering the hull after it was holed when hitting ice early on Friday.
Two pumps were emptying water which was coming in through a 30cm hole in the hull, 1.5m below the water line.
The vessel is next to the Antarctic ice shelf, about 3700km southeast of New Zealand and thick sea ice has hampered rescue efforts.
The Sparta's sister ship Chiyo Maru No.3 is about 185 kilometres away and still days from reaching the vessel.
The Norwegian vessel Seljevaer is only 33km from the Sparta but is hemmed in by sea ice.
A South Korean icebreaker commissioned by the Sparta's owner, which left New Zealand on Sunday, is about 3000km from the ship and will take at least six days to get there.
More equipment to help fix the hole is being sourced by the ship's agent and the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre will organise its delivery.
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