In Antarctica all the stations are run by electricity that is created by diesel generators. Over the entire year one station will use approximately 6-700,000 litres of fuel. As you can imagine, it is no easy feat to get this much fuel delivered to each station. Clearly there are no roads for bulk fuel trucks to deliver it, and fuel tanker ships can't get down through the ice, so it all has to arrive on the ice rated resupply vessel that is chartered once a year to come down and resupply the continental stations. Refuelling is a time consuming process. There are many considerations to take as far as human and environmental safety is concerned.
Basically the fuel is contained on board the ships in huge holds. A massive long fuel line is rolled out from on the shore and connected at the pump on the ship and a pump on the shore. Fuel is then pumped across the water and into massive fuel tanks contained in fuel farms on the shore. All the while the fuel line is laying on the surface of the ocean and must be monitored by inflatable rubber boat (IRB) teams for leaks and ice. The ice comes and goes with the tide, so as it comes in the fuel line must be lifted over it and as it goes out the fuel line must be lifted over it once again! It is a never-ending battle! The refuelling once started continues around the clock. I was on a refuelling team and we worked 4 hours on 8 hours off for a day and a half. It was a very interesting experience, and to be honest i had a ball!
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