Icebergs ahoy! Alert goes out south of New Zealand

Last update: November 24, 2009 - 8:47 PM

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

A flotilla of hundreds of icebergs that split off Antarctic ice shelves is drifting toward New Zealand and could pose a risk to ships in the South Pacific Ocean, officials said Tuesday.

The nearest one, rising about 90 feet out of the water, was 160 miles southeast of Stewart Island on New Zealand's southern tip, Australian glaciologist Neal Young said. He could not say how many icebergs in total were dotting the Pacific, but he counted 130 in one satellite image alone and 100 in another.

No major shipping lanes or substantial fishing grounds are in the area, but most ships there have little hull protection if they collide with an iceberg -- which typically has 90 percent of its mass under water. Maritime officials have issued navigation warnings for the area.

Young attributed the closeness of the icebergs to favorable currents and a cold snap that slowed melting as they moved north, and he said regional warming in Antarctica had broken up more ice shelves in recent years, producing more icebergs.

New Zealand oceanographer Mike Williams said the icebergs were drifting at a speed of about 16 miles a day and he expects that most won't reach New Zealand.

Large numbers of icebergs last floated close to New Zealand in 2006.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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