A German research ship, which has been trapped in Antarctic pack ice since early June, is to stay there for the rest of the winter.

It may be joined by the icebreaker that was sent to free it, but became stuck as well.

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The Argentine icebreaker Almirante Iriziar - which began to pull the German ship toward safer water earlier in July - will now attempt to force its way home alone.

Captain Eduardo Benmuyal, said: "We are trying to identify a safe place to make our way north."

The ships have supplies to last until November

The icebreaker will use information from helicopters and satellites to plot the best route through the ice if it breaks through, he said.

The German ship, Magdalena Oldendorff, with a crew of 16 men and an Argentine doctor and plenty of supplies, will not move until October.

The Irizar and the Magdalena Oldendorff are about 940 miles (1,500 kilometres) from open sea, according to the captain.

The German ship had left Cape Town on 12 April to supply the Russian Antarctic base of Novolazarevskaya, some 3,000 km south of South Africa, but became trapped in ice four metres thick on its return journey north.

Most of the 107 passengers were airlifted from the vessel by helicopters shipped to the site by a South African rescue ship on 1 July.

But the skeleton crew was down to a week's worth of food and fuel before the Argentine icebreaker delivered supplies.

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