Expert: Ship was blind when it struck iceberg

The radar equipment on Chinese icebreaker Xuelong cannot distinguish floating surface ice from an iceberg, which helps explain why the ship slammed into an iceberg in western Antarctica's Amundsen Sea on Saturday, an expert said.

The variable weather in the area was another factor, oceanographer Chen Dake told China Central Television. The vessel was caught in a sudden thick fog and the crew was only able to spot the iceberg at close range.

Xuelong is in stable condition now. It sailed out of the iceberg-dense area and resumed its voyage in the early hours of Tuesday, Beijng time, the Ministry of Natural Resources said.