South Korea's first-ever icebreaking vessel set sale for its Antarctic voyage Tuesday to test its icebreaking operations and explore candidate sites for the country 's second research base there, the government said.
The 7,487-ton icebreaker named Araon stopped last Friday at the port of Christchurch, New Zealand, to store supplies and refuel before heading to the Antarctic for a month-long research expedition.
Araon will conduct research in Cape Burks, where South Korea is preparing to build its second research base in the Antarctic, and in Terra Nova Bay, the southeastern end of the Antarctic, a second candidate site, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
The country will decide on the site for the research center based on Araon's examination during the first half of this year, the ministry said. South Korea currently has one research base, the Sejong Research Center, on King George Island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.