ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The vessel, built at Admiralty Shipyards, left St. Petersburg and is now moving to Murmansk, where final preparations will be carried out for entering the Central Arctic.
In mid-September, the North Pole will head for the Novosibirsk islands. The settlement point will be reached in about two weeks, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. The North Pole will freeze into the ice and begin to drift. This will happen in early October. Expedition NP-41 (North Pole-41) will depart on board the vessel, which will be a continuation of the legendary program of drifting polar stations of 1937 led by Ivan Papanin.
The new Russian ship will become the leading scientific base in high latitudes. Its technical characteristics are: length – 83.1 meters, width – 22.5 meters, speed – at least 10 knots, minimum service life – 25 years. The ship has 15 scientific laboratories equipped with the most modern equipment (research personnel – 34 people, crew – 14 people). Upon arrival at the place, a camp will be set up on the ice, in which various studies will be carried out. That is, polar explorers will go to work on the ice and return home, to the platform. Where, by the way, there are excellent conditions: comfortable single cabins, a gym, a small pool, a medical unit, including an operating room with everything you need.
However, polar explorers will not need to stay on the platform for two years. It is assumed that the research groups will change every four months, for this they will use a helicopter. It will also deliver food, clothing and other necessary goods.
The research scope is large. Geological, geophysical, acoustic and other measurements that are so necessary for understanding the processes taking place in the Arctic and ensuring the safety of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Drones are used for a number of studies.
“At the North Pole, we will be able to study the natural environment of the Arctic in a comprehensive manner – from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, at a depth of about four thousand meters, through the entire thickness of the ocean water. And at the same time exploring the currents, the properties of water and ice. And then – to the upper layers of the atmosphere and space”, said the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute director, expedition member Alexander Makarov.
The ship safety is guaranteed by the special shape of the hull, which optimally distributes the load from ice compression. The ice will push the ship to the surface. All this has been repeatedly tested on a model in the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute’s ice basin, where real northern conditions are created, taking into account not only low temperatures, but also the ice and its movement characteristics.
To protect people from a close contact with the owner of the Arctic, the polar bear, special alarms and thermal imagers will be installed along the ship. Researchers will be accompanied by specially trained people.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr wrote that 153 ships will be built in Russia for the Arctic.
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Text: Maria Sokolova, Photo: the United Shipbuilding Corporation press center
