#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The self-propelled scientific platform is designed to study the Arctic. The North Pole first ice expedition start is scheduled for September.
“On May 20 we have to go for sea trials, that is, when all the units are already on the water. Our Admiralty Shipyards said they would not let us down, they would cope with this task”, RIA Novosti quotes Alexander Kozlov, minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation.
Recall that the contract between the Admiralty Shipyards and Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Roshydromet for the construction of an ice-resistant platform was signed in April 2018. The ship was laid down on April 10, 2019. The construction readiness of the platform is 94 percent. In May, the North Pole will go to the port of registry in Murmansk.
The ice-resistant self-propelled platform (LSP) North Pole has the functionality of a research center and is designed for year-round expeditions in the Arctic Ocean. The ship will conduct geological, acoustic, geophysical and oceanographic research.
It is planned that the North Pole will resume the traditional operation of drifting stations in the Arctic region. Previously, icebergs were used for polar expeditions. Scientists have set up manned stations on glaciers. For the first time, such a landing, followed by wintering, was carried out by Soviet specialists in 1937. The expedition was called North Pole.
The North Pole LSP is capable of independently drifting and moving in ice at a speed of up to ten knots. The stock of fuel placed on board will allow the platform to autonomously be on the expedition for up to two years. The scientific center of the ice-resistant platform will be equipped with a modern laboratory and uninterrupted communication facilities.
The North Pole will also be equipped with a runway for multipurpose Mi-8 helicopters. The platform is 83.1 meters long, 22.5 meters wide, and has a displacement of about 10.4 thousand tons. The ship’s crew consists of 14 people, and the scientific staff of 34 people.
Earlier, the This Is Taimyr told that scientists delivered to St. Petersburg from the 67th Russian Antarctic Expedition a 567 000-year-old ice core – the ancient ice floe would help predict climate change.
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Text: Ekaterina Maksimova, Photo: Admiralty Shipyards / admship.ru
