‘Massive’ Antarctic Iceberg Is Loose, Observers Warn

An iceberg floating toward South America from Antarctica has entered shipping lanes and could pose a hazard to mariners, the National Ice Center warned Tuesday.

The iceberg measures 24 by 48 miles--more than half the size of Delaware--and is surrounded by 100 to 200 smaller icebergs.

“You’re talking a massive berg,” said Jeff Andrews, a senior analyst at the center who said he has been tracking the iceberg for the last seven years and gave it its name, B-10A. Andrews said the floating mass has not yet threatened any vessels.

Most of the ships navigating the Drake Passage between the southern tip of South America and the Palmer peninsula of Antarctica are U.S. Coast Guard, scientific or pleasure craft, and the passage is not a primary commercial shipping route.

Dangers remain for commercial ships, however, as B-10A is headed north toward South America and then east. Currents have been known to pull bergs as far north as Buenos Aires, said Andrews.

B-10A is now in the vicinity of 58 degrees latitude, 36 minutes south, 57 degrees longitude west, and is drifting southeast at about seven to nine miles per day, having doubled its pace since last year.

Smaller icebergs are breaking off as it moves north into warmer water, and a cautionary zone has been established 165 miles around the iceberg’s center.

The National Ice Center, in Suitland, Md., is operated by the Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard. The center provides worldwide sea ice analyses, tracking icebergs via satellite.