A South Korean fishing boat was safely rescued by the country's icebreaker Saturday, one day after the ship became stranded by ice in the Antarctic sea, the maritime ministry said.

"The stranded ship has been successfully rescued and is on its way to a safe area," a ministry official said.

The 62-ton "Sun Star" sent a distress call late Friday after an 862-ton ship from the same South Korean company failed to pull it out of heavy ice in the polar region, the ministry said earlier.

The South Korean icebreaker Araon arrived at the scene earlier Saturday and successfully freed the stranded ship.

The ship's 39 crewmembers, including seven South Korean sailors, had been ordered to evacuate to the larger company vessel, Costa, with five of the crew staying behind on the Sun Star for maintenance. (Yonhap)