Expeditioners stranded on Australian flagship icebreaker, which ran aground in Antarctica, were rescued on Friday by a barge, ahead of attempts to refloat the ship.

The Aurora Australis has been stuck since breaking its mooring and being swept onto rocks on Wednesday during a raging blizzard while on a resupply mission to Australia's Mawson Station.

"Expeditioners on board the Aurora Australis have been successfully transferred by a barge to Mawson station," the Australian Antarctic Division said in a statement on Friday.