What happened

Seven containers were staged a few hundred metres from the Ekström Ice Shelf edge at Neumayer Station III's ice port ahead of a supply ship's arrival. They included four containers of return cargo and non-hazardous waste, a tank container holding 9,500 litres of Arctic diesel, a generator container with three diesel drums and a heated shelter container. A severe blizzard with winds reported at up to 130 kilometres per hour struck from 13 to 20 January. When crews could inspect the area, they found that a roughly 500-by-300-metre section of the ice shelf had calved into the Weddell Sea with all seven containers aboard. RV Polarstern diverted to the iceberg, but instability prevented alongside salvage. Helicopters recovered nearly one tonne of equipment, including the three separate drums containing about 580 litres of diesel, before work stopped on 25 January. The 9,500-litre tank container remained. Germany's later Antarctic Treaty report said the iceberg was last observed on 22 February and probably disintegrated soon afterward; it concluded the tank was likely damaged by the fall or imploded while sinking and that the diesel would have escaped. Arctic diesel is lighter and more volatile than heavy fuel oil, but extreme cold slows bacterial degradation. The actual ecological effects remain unquantified and are not described here as confirmed large-scale biological damage. No one was injured.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.