Trapped fishing ship now heading to NZ

The Sealord operated boat "Antarctic Chieftain". Photo / supplied / Bill Evans

A fishing ship trapped in ice last week has made it to the open ocean and will now head to New Zealand under its own steam.

The Antarctic Chieftain, a 63m toothfishing vessel, ran into trouble last Wednesday after damaging three of its four propeller blades deep in the Southern Ocean.

It was escorted through the ice for three days by the US Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), which organised the rescue effort, said the vessels had now made it to open water.

The damaged Australian fishing ship rendezvoused with the New Zealand fishing boat Janas about 75km clear of the ice, and would now head to Nelson under its own steam.

RCCNZ said the Janas was likely to accompany the Antarctic Chieftain for about two days as its performance in open water was assessed.

The Antarctic Chieftain was currently travelling at a speed of about 7 knots (13km/h) and could take up to two weeks to reach Nelson, almost 4500km away.

RCCNZ rescue mission coordinator Dave Wilson said the operation to free the vessel from the ice had been challenging.

"The crew of the Polar Star and the US Coast Guard have done an outstanding job and we'd like to thank them all for their efforts.

"They've worked around-the-clock in extreme conditions to bring the Antarctic Chieftain to safer waters.

"We'd also like to thank the captain and crew of the Janas for making themselves available to provide assistance."

The Antarctic Chieftain became stuck about 1700km from McMurdo Sound, on the edge of New Zealand's search and rescue region. Half of its crew of 26 are New Zealanders.