Icebergs head for New Zealand

SHIPS are on alert and maritime authorities are monitoring the movements of hundreds of menacing icebergs drifting toward New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean, officials said.

“It’s an alert to shipping to be aware these potential hazards are around and to be on the lookout for them,” Maritime New Zealand spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said of an official navigation warning issued for the area south of the country.

The current flotilla of icebergs that split off Antarctic ice shelves is slowly drifting in the direction of New Zealand. The nearest one, measuring about 330ft to 660ft long, was 260km south- east of New Zealand’s Stewart Island on Tuesday, said Australian glaciologist Neal Young.