QUESTION:
Has the Polar Duke ever been surround by ice and had to wait a certain
period of time to get free?

        Jeffery C., Mrs. Garvin's Science Class 
        Mauldin Elementary, Mauldin, SC


ANSWER from Mary Lenox, ASA, Administrative Coordinator
            Palmer Station, Antarctica
            Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:01:12 -0500 


Hi, Jeffery.

Yes.  In August of 1994, for about a two week period, the Polar Duke 
was stuck in the ice.  The ship drifted with the ice until the 
Nathaniel B. Palmer, the other ship in the USAP and an ice breaker, 
arrived and cleared a path through the ice to the station.  The Duke 
has been caught a couple of other times, but none as long as two 
weeks, to my knowledge.  

Thanks for your good question.
Cheers,
Mary Lenox