A total of 67 experts – all of them Russian – are onboard the polar research vessel “Akademik Fyodorov”, which will spend a planned 85 days in the Arctic. The expedition is historic – never before has a Russian Arctic mission of this proportion taken place. The goal is clear – to find evidence supporting Russia’s claims for huge parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Russia claims that it is entitled to expand its sovereignty over an additional 1,2 million square kilometers in the area. The claims include the Lomonosov and Mendeleev Ridges, as well as the North Pole point.
-This is a historic event, State Duma deputy and Presidential Adviser on Arctic Issues, Artur Chilingarov, said before the departure of the vessel. The expedition is unprecedented, he underlined. No such expeditions have been conducted in modern Russian history, neither in the Soviet period, Chilingarov said, a press release from the Arkhangelsk regional administration reads.
A team of experts from the top Russian research institutes will be on board the “Akademik Fyodorov”, RIA Novosti reports. In addition, representatives of the Severneftegaz company – a leading company within geological explorations – will take part. The expedition will be lead by Andrey Zenkov. The “Akademik Fyodorov” will be accompanied by the nuclear-powered icebreaker “Yamal”.
The researchers will during the mission also find a suitable place for a new drifting Arctic station – the North Pole-38.
According to Artur Chilingarov, Russia already next year plans to submit a new application to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Dvinainform.ru reports. Other experts believe 2013 is a more likely year.
