Sparta (ship)
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image= | Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russia}} |Ship country=Russia | Hide header= | Ship name=Sparta | Ship owner=Antaeus | Ship operator= | Ship registry=Sovetskaya Gavan | Ship route= | Ship ordered= | Ship builder= | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched=10 January 1988 | Ship completed= | Ship christened= | Ship acquired= | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship identification= | Ship fate= | Ship status= | Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class= | Ship tonnage= | Ship displacement=876 tons | Ship length={{cvt|48|m|ftin}} | Ship beam={{cvt|8.8|m|ftin}} | Ship height={{cvt|3.7|m|ftin}} | Ship draught={{cvt|3.34|m|ftin}} | Ship depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship ice class= | Ship sail plan= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion= | Ship speed= | Ship capacity=286 tons | Ship crew=32 | Ship notes= }} |
Sparta is a {{convert|48|m|adj=on|ftin}} Russian-flagged fishing trawler and refrigerator ship.
Ross Sea incident
On 16 December 2011 Sparta sent out a distress signal after it struck a submerged iceberg while fishing for Antarctic cod in the Ross Sea. The incident left the vessel holed below the waterline and sinking close to the Ross Ice Shelf and approximately {{convert|2,000|nmi|km|lk=in}} south-east of New Zealand. The Royal New Zealand Air Force twice sent Hercules aircraft on seven-hour flights from Christchurch to air-drop equipment. (The planes had to refuel at McMurdo Station in Antarctica before returning to base.) The air-drops allowed the 32-man crew to pump out the flooded hold, make temporary repairs and stabilise the listing ship.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16212793 |title=Stranded Russian ship receives NZ air drop supplies |author= |date=17 December 2011 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=18 December 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/18/4131457/crew-of-stricken-antarctic-fishing.html |title=Crew of stricken Antarctic fishing boat awaits air drop |author=David Barber |date=18 December 2011 |publisher=The Sacramento Bee |accessdate=18 December 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/sparta-crew-doing-fine-4659741 |title=Sparta crew doing fine |author= |date=18 December 2011 |publisher=TVNZ |accessdate=18 December 2011}}{{YouTube|id=v_g_sB0qM24|title=RNZAF aid the stricken fishing vessel Sparta stranded on the Ross Sea Ice Shelf}}
Pack ice meant nearby vessels, such as the Norwegian Seljevaer and Sparta{{'}}s Russian sister ship Chiyo Maru 3, were unable to come to Sparta{{'}}s aid. The crew of Sparta, made up of 16 Indonesians, 15 Russians and a Ukrainian researcher, had to wait until 26 December 2011 when the South Korean icebreaker {{RV|Araon||2}} arrived. One of Araon{{'}}s first tasks was to pump fuel into the raised side of Sparta, thus lifting the damaged hull and exposing it to the air.{{cite web |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/rescuers-reach-stricken-russian-ship/story-e6frg6so-1226230767540 |title=Rescuers reach stricken Russian ship the Sparta |agency=Associated Press |date=26 December 2011 |publisher=The Australian |accessdate=26 December 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226205908/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/rescuers-reach-stricken-russian-ship/story-e6frg6so-1226230767540 |archive-date=26 December 2011}} Sparta was stuck for 12 days before repairs could be made and it could head for safety in Port Nelson, New Zealand.{{cite news |last1=Mussen |first1=Deidre |title=Danger and death in the south's cruel seas |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/6255575/Danger-and-death-in-the-souths-cruel-seas |accessdate=2 June 2020 |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=14 January 2012 |ref=Yes}}
With the ship's fate in the balance, biologist David Ainley had criticised the system of fishing permits that allowed "underpowered, single-hulled boats" to operate in the area and the costs involved in rescuing them.{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6177436/Sparta-drama-sparks-criticism-of-Antarctic-fishery |title=Drifting Sparta drama sparks criticism of Antarctic fishery |author=Michael Field |date=22 December 2011 |publisher=Stuff.co.nz |accessdate=26 December 2011}} Ecologist Alexei Knishkikov added his concern for local marine wildlife, should any of the Sparta{{'}}s 200 tons of light fuel oil leak into the sea.{{cite web |url=http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/12/19/62504451.html |title=Drifting "Sparta" gets stabilized |author=Pershkina Anastasiya |date=19 December 2011 |publisher=The Voice of Russia |accessdate=19 December 2011}} In the event, only a little hydraulic oil spilled into the water.{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/sparta-set-free-from-antarctic-ice |title=Sparta Set Free from Antarctic Ice |author= |date=28 December 2011 |publisher=The Maritime Executive |accessdate=31 December 2011}}