Historically there are primarily two circumstances that have led to boats being locked in the sea ice off the coasts of Svalbard: research and hunting. For the most part the scienteists in their research vessels planned to spend time locked in the ice. However, for the hunters and trappers who got caught in the ice, the incidences were most often highly unintended. Being trapped in the ice without plans or provisions to spend a brutally harsh arctic winter was almost a certain death sentence - though there were a number of miraculous survivors.