This year’s Arctic expedition is a follow-up of last year’s expedition, reportedly the biggest organized by the Russians in a number of years. Then, a total of 67 experts – all of them Russian – were onboard the “Akademik Fyodorov” for a total of 85 days in the Arctic. The expedition was historic – never before had a Russian Arctic mission of this proportion taken place. The goal was clear – to find evidence supporting Russia’s claims for huge parts of the Arctic Ocean.
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This year’s expedition, which is expected to last about two months, especially focuses on the sea bottom conditions and the levels of sediments along the Lomonosov and Mendeleev Ridge, RIA Novosti reports.
The “Akademik Fyodorov” will from the area of the Franz Josef Land be accompanied by the nuclear powered icebreaker “Rossiya”.
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As reported by BarentsObserver, Premier Putin last week said that Russia’s claim for shelf territories will be ready by December 2013 and that all documentation will be submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in early 2014.
