Ice Breakers

Surprised not to find this as a topic. There are some really great ice breaker stamps - especially Russian. Anyone?

Here's one from New Zealand - Xue Long

One of my favourites

The maxi-card is postmarked on the 29th October 2009 at Lyttelton which is first day. It also bears two special Chinese "Xue Long" rubber stamps or cachets applied on board the vessel itself. (One cachet is on the reverse). This was a limited edition maxi-card and is rarely seen, and with only 1000 stamps available I'm not certain how many postcards were produced/stamped.

Issued 29 October 2009 coinciding with the visit of the vessel to Lyttelton on its way to the Antarctic. "Xue Long" which means Snow Dragon is the largest ship involved in Antarctic work. It provides support to China's three Antarctic stations. It called into Lyttelton for bunkering, picking up research scientists and an extra helicopter. A total of 1,000 regularly gummed 50 cent CAL's were produced with over 70% going overseas immediately.

The vessel is the main Chinese Antarctic support vessel. It is based at Shanghai and provides Icebreaking capabilities to the Chinese when re-supplying their two main Antarctic bases. To see covers from these bases click on either Great Wall Station or Zhong Shan Station. It is currently the biggest vessel regularly engaged in Antarctic work.

http://www.newzeal.com/theme/Ships/.../xuelong.htm

Waiting for someone to break the ice.......in the meantime...look at this great Russian Ice Breaker stamp (also on a postcard showing the same boat)

USSR 1965 Polar research
The se-tenant 4k pair show (left stamp) Ice breakers 'Taimyr' and 'Vaigach' in the Arctic and (right stamp) Atomic ice breaker 'Lenin'.

http://topicalstampstore.com/images...ps/60219.jpg

Lots of interesting info on this site. Check out Antarctic Ship Covers and Antarctic Cinderellas for material on Icebreakers.

http://www.newzeal.com/steve/antarctica.htm

22crows

Very nice stamps - thanks. I've scanned them here - hope thats OK.
If not please let me know and I will remove them



The other link. Yes Steven McLachlan has a good selection, and I have bought a few bits and pieces off him in the past. I think Xue Long might have originally been one of his postcards. http://www.newzeal.com/theme/Ships/.../xuelong.htm

Aurora Australis


Aurora Australis is the Latin name for Southern Lights – nature's breathtaking show of light, influenced by the sun. They're only visible six months of the year in Antarctica.

Also of interest - info, postcards, etc of this vessel

http://www.newzeal.com/steve/Ships/aurora.htm

Canadian Coast Guard Ship, Labrador. Icebreaker.
The first ship to circumnavigate North America.

No collection is complete without a stamp from Ajman.


That was the "Lenin"

Now the producer of this, got it a little wrong...



What happened to the "Lenin" you ask?

Ice breaker rescuing a freighter, designed by Torsten Ekström, printed by lithography, and issued by Finland on March 2, 1977 to commemorate the centenary of the opening of winter navigation between Finland and Sweden by the steamer Express, Scott No. 595, Facit No. 808.

- nethryk

I always admire the Russian Ice Breaker stamps

Here from the 1972 set
2k , Battleship Peter I, 1872
3k , Cruiser "Varyag", 1899
4k , Battleship "Potemkin"
6k , Cruiser Ochakov, 1902
10k , Mine layer Amur, 1907

Nice one Bas.

two souvenir sheets last years featuring ice-breaker :
ice breaker about drifting polar station



and more three ice breakers: "Krasin", "Russia" and "Professor Molchanov"

Alexey!

Here is another icebreaker: expedition to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean

Time lapse video of Icebreaker on the Ross Sea, Antarctica
http://msnvideo.msn.com/?videoid=f1...arepermalink

Kirk