An Antarctic South-African station on the edge of fear

An alleged assault on a South African Antarctic station is currently making headlines. While the phenomenon is rare, it is not exceptional. Isolation, boredom and confinement in a hostile environment can put the nerves of scientific and station personnel to the test.

“Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms. Furthermore, he threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.” Worrying words for an equally worrying situation.

On March 16, the South African weekly Sunday Times revealed an e-mail sent by one of the members of the SANAE IV station’s wintering team. The nine-strong team had taken up residence at the South African base on February ¹ for a wintering period that was due to last until December.

Unfortunately, less than a month later, an assault and death threats were to spread fear throughout the station, in what appears to have been a full-fledged “meltdown”. The South African authorities, alerted on February 27 by overwinterers, say there was a dispute between the alleged perpetrator and the team leader who wanted to change the schedule of a weather-dependent task.

Following the report, the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) spoke to the team members, as well as to the alleged perpetrator. The latter agreed to undergo further psychological evaluation, while apologizing to his team mates and expressing remorse, according to information published by the department in a press release dated March 17.

“The DFFE requires that each individual being considered for an interview is subjected to an independent, confidential and professional psychometric analysis to ensure they are able to cope with the isolation, and can work and live with others in the confined space of the bases”, the department says. “Only candidates who do not have any negative outcomes from all the background evaluations will be considered for appointment.”

A standard procedure that applies to all scientific and maintenance staff on Antarctic stations. However, it remains difficult to foresee and prevent such incidents, which fortunately remain rare.

It has to be said that the teams, and in particular the overwinterers who work and live on the Antarctic bases, are put to a severe test. Isolation, boredom and confinement, combined with long, sunless winter months and abysmal cold, create an environment conducive to conflict. And to start the fire, it sometimes only takes the smallest of things, which can become very irritating in this particular context.

As Gabrielle Walker, a scientist and author who has taken part in several Antarctic expeditions, explains in a BBC article: “You know exactly how they put their coffee cup down and what direction the handle points in; you know that they scratch their nose three times before they sit down; you know everything about them. […] And in the bad circumstances, it can start to irritate you… because there’s nothing else – there’s no other stimulus and you’re with people 24/7.”

With axe and knife

The SANAE IV incident is not the first for South Africa’s Antarctic program. In 2017, an assault had already occurred on a South African station, this time located on Marion Island. One of the team members, caught up in a love triangle, had demolished a colleague’s laptop with an axe after having had his marriage proposal rejected by a female colleague.

Such incidents can take a dramatic turn. This was the case in 1959 on the Russian Vostok station, when a scientist killed his colleague during a game of chess. Convinced that his opponent had cheated, he stabbed him to death. According to a persistent rumor, the Soviet authorities banned chess from Antarctic stations after this episode.

Almost 60 years later, in 2018, another Russian station, Bellingshausen, was the scene of an attempted murder when an electrician stabbed one of his colleagues several times. The victim was rushed to Chile for emergency treatment, while the assailant spent ten days locked up in the station’s church, converted into a makeshift prison for the occasion. Both avid readers, the electrician reproached his colleague for revealing the plot of the books to him before he had finished reading them, fuelling a climate of tension that led to the attack.

And the incidents don’t stop there. In 1984, Almirante Brown’s doctor, fed up with seeing his mission extended, set fire to the Argentine station to force its repatriation, while in 1996 two cooks from the American McMurdo station fought each other with a hammer, prompting the FBI to intervene for the first time in Antarctica.

In such situations, the geographical isolation of bases and their difficulty of access can become aggravating factors. Physical intervention by the authorities can be difficult, if not impossible, depending on base location and weather conditions. In the case of SANAE IV, it does not appear that the authorities will be organizing a rescue operation in the near future, preferring for the time being to take charge and mediate remotely. ◼️