Only Russia has technology, knowledge and real specialists. A press-conference on the research vessel Akademik Fedorov.

Tomorrow, after reaching 83º Nord, moving on the east side of Franz Josef Land, the Akademik Fedorov will be released on the ice and in one of the ice-holes test dive of the Mir-1 and the Mir-2 deep manned submersibles will be conducted.

Today on the eve of a trial dive Head of the high-Arctic deep-sea expedition, Artur Chilingarov came in a helicopter from the nuclear ice-breaker Russia for a press conference. He noted that the purpose of the trial dive is to complete the main task – the submersibles’ dive at the North Pole.

Anatoly Sagalevich, Head of the Laboratory of the deep manned submersibles, Ph.D., said that the expedition is historical. “In 1937, the first drifting station was opened, and the first time today at the geographic North Pole, human eyes can see the bottom of the Arctic Ocean”, said Sagalevich. “We are to put the flag of Russia, and it will stand on top of this ocean basin. The sampling of soil and selection of species will also be carried out. The two Mir apparatuses will meet, and shoot this process”.

“Dive under the Arctic ice is very important for further research of mineral and biological resources. This is a very great historical and national task”, he stressed.

By the way, the Mir submersibles will be the first to fall through the ice. Also, they will be the first to dive from the research vessel Akademik Fedorov. The Mir submersibles are based on the research vessel Akademik Keldysh.

Sagalevich presented the Head of the dive, Victor Nishcheta, who would coordinate all the activities of diving, navigation, and track the location of the submersibles from the Akademik Fedorov.

Vladimir Sokolov, Head of the Arktika-2007 expedition said that during the International Polar Year, everything around happens “to bring new data about the World Ocean” “It is symbolic that scientists of the two research institutes in Russia are involved in the expedition: the Ocean Research and Science Institute and the Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic”, said Sokolov.

"This expedition was made possible only by Russia, which has the technology and know-how. This is the work of deep-water apparatuses, work on the ice; ice-breaking and research fleet, through which it became possible to ensure the logistics – the delivery of the Mir submersibles to the North Pole”, said one of the dive participants, Australian Michael McDowell. “In Russia alone, there are unique specialists” Note that the Mir-1 crew will be exclusively Russian. Artur Chilingarov insisted on that: the Russian flag at the North Pole must be set only by the Russians. The second crew will be international. It includes Commander Evgeny Cherniaev, Australian Mike McDowell and Chairman of a large Swedish company Frederick Paulsen.

Artur Chilingarov told the reporters that a Norwegian expedition had recently left for the Arctic. The expedition participants plan to reach the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the pole, but with the help of robotic unmanned vehicles. “Many countries during the International Polar Year, stepped up research on the Arctic”, concluded Chilingarov. He also said, “Denmark has officially announced that the Lomonosov Ridge is an extension and is connected to Greenland, and considers the shelf zone to be Denmark’s. While studying samples of soil from the North Pole, we should conduct research and prove that the Lomonosov Ridge and Mendeleev Rise continue the Russian shelf”.

MVK is a media partner of the Arktika-2007 expedition. The purpose of the MVK expedition is to develop the exposure of the polar museum which, incidentally, was first opened at the North Pole. The leader of The North Pole - new opportunities in life and business project, Alexey Shaburov said, “We clearly understand the importance of the event for the country, for the development and use of the polar areas. We have established a museum dedicated to legendary Papanin and his team. Our task is to hold our history and the modern polar explorers’ feats through some generations.

Natalia Yurchenko
Press Secretary of Director General of MVK
The research vessel Akademik Fedorov, the Arktika-2007 expedition
Moscow – Murmansk – the Barents Sea
 

 ***We recall that on July 10, the flagship of the Russian polar fleet, the research vessel Akademik Fedorov took off for the Arktika’2007 expedition from St Petersburg. The high-latitude unprecedented deep-water arctic expedition will be organized during the first voyage of the Akademik Fedorov. For the first time in the history, Russian deep-water manned submersibles will dive near the North Pole target. The Mir bathyscaphes are to dive 4, 200 m deep under the North Pole.