The Ice Pier's Been Found!

Earlier in the year, when there was still open water
in McMurdo Sound, the Ice Pier broke away from its
moorings and drifted away. Most people thought that
it had either melted in the area or drifted far enough
north that it would melt in warmer waters. Apparently
not, as a helo mission spotted it between here and
Marble Point. It's still relatively intact, including
equipment and a Jamesway that were in place when it drifted
away. I've heard there are plans to remove the equipment
so hopefully the whole thing doesn't continue to drift
away or melt in the meantime. As it is, it's pretty
well locked into the Ice, so it should be at least a
couple of months from now. Now there is a new Ice
Pier in place at McMurdo that they hope to have ready
by the time the Re-Supply Vessel arrives in January.

Oops

Last year, it was determined that the old Ice Pier
had lived it's life and during the winter and early
summer, a new Ice Pier was constructed. The Ice
Pier is used just like a pier elsewhere in the world,
but it is unique in that it is made entirely...of ice!
It has a dirt covering, but it literally floats on top
of the water. While the new Ice Pier is functioning
well and serving it's purpose, the old Ice Pier is
sitting off to the side while they decide what to do
with it. Well...today something bad happened and the
mooring failed. The old Ice Pier started drifting away,
and into the middle of the channel. This is blocking
the Fuel Tanker from leaving. I've heard they are
already moving the pier back into it's old position.
However, where else in the world would something like
this happen? Antarctica is a unique place indeed!

Just Add Dirt

This is the first new Ice Pier I've ever seen at
McMurdo and now they're giving it a dirt covering
to protect it from the constant rays of the sun as
well as vehicles driving on it. Last year, the old
pier literally broke so the crew spent most of the
winter building a new one. The pier is used by the
cargo ship, fuel ship and Icebreaker when they arrive
in a couple of months and it floats on Winter Quarters
Bay like a giant-sized hockey rink.

Moving Away

The Ice Pier continues on it's merry way, slowly creeping
toward Hut Point. It's hoped that it will float far enough
away so that a new Ice Pier can be built this winter.

Craaaack

The big news today is that the Ice Pier has cracked
in half. Not just a small crack that I have actually
stepped over before, but a huuuuge crack that you
actually have to jump over. Now it's two separate
pieces, one actually higher than the other. They're
trying to keep it together because now that the Oden
is gone, there's no way to either push it back together
or as a last resort, tow it out to sea so that a new
one can be built. This Pier is 10 years old and the
only one I've ever known to be there. I'm not sure
what they're going to do.

It's Offload Time

The M/V American Tern is anchored at the
Ice Pier again this year and has already
been relieved of much of it's cargo (notice
how high it's sitting in the water). We're
not supposed to get as much cargo this year
so that's not surprising. What is surprising
(at least to me) as how smoothly everything
nautical is going this season. The Oden made
it in on time and cut a clear path to McMurdo.
The Paul Buck steamed in, unloaded it's cargo
of fuel and as quickly as it arrived, it left.
Now the American Tern finds herself here and
everything is going like clockwork. In the
past, it always seemed like there was some
sort of issue slowing things down. One year
the ice was too thick so the tanker couldn't
make it in, causing all the fuel to be
transported for miles via hose. Another
year one or more icebreakers broke down, causing
all sorts of problems for the other boats.
Another year, a crane broke on the cargo vessel,
slowing down both the offload and onload process.
Here's knocking on wood that everything continues
to go smoothly.