The crew of a scientific expedition ship stuck in ice in the Antarctic are now pinning their rescue hopes on an Australian icebreaker.
The Russian Academic Shokalskiy, which has been trapped since Christmas Day, has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.
The Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon sent to the rescue got stuck itself, unable to break through thick ice, and had to turn back.
Now it's down to Australia's Aurora Australis, which is on its way to the area and is expected to arrive on Sunday.
Expedition leader Chris Turney says those on board the trapped ship are doing their best to keep morale high.
"By its very nature Antarctica is a serious place to come and work," Mr Turney told SBS. "And it's a very fine line between looking very relaxed and at the same time keeping aware of the all the risks and managing that as best as possible."
"If we're very lucky we could still get out of here on our own, but at the moment we're not going anywhere fast."
Three vessels with icebreaking capability, including Australia's Antarctic resupply ship Aurora Australis, have headed to the area to attempt to rescue the vessel.
It is not yet clear whether the Aurora Australis, which has the highest icebreaking rating of the three ships that responded to the distress call, will be able to go any further than the Chinese vessel, the Snow Dragon.
AMSA said other options would be discussed Saturday, including whether authorities could use a helicopter onboard the Snow Dragon to bring the passengers to safety during the current favourable weather.
The ship is carrying scientists and tourists who are following the Antarctic path of explorer Sir Douglas Mawson a century ago.
They have been carrying out the same scientific experiments his team conducted during the 1911-1914 Australian Antarctic Expedition -- the first large-scale Australian-led scientific expedition to the frozen continent.
Several members of the team have already battled sea ice to reach the historic Mawson's Huts -- built and occupied by the 1911-1914 expedition -- which have been isolated for years by a giant iceberg.
The group became stuck when unexpected weather forced their ship into heavy ice and since becoming stranded have sat through an intense blizzard which appears to have increased the build up of ice around them.
Scientist Chris Turney said the team had been attempting to update the scientific records made by Mawson's group a century ago -- records which he said have become crucial in charting signs of global warming.
They had planned to return to New Zealand by early January.
