On 16 August the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker of FSUE “Rosmorport” successfully moored in Murmansk Seaport bringing 17 polar explorers and more than 40 tons of cargo from the North Pole – 2015 research drifting station.

In the solemn atmosphere Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Sergey Donskoy, famous Soviet and Russian explorer of the Arctic and Antarctic Regions Arthur Chilingarov, Executive Director Andrey Lavrishchev, and representatives of Murmansk administration greeted the polar explorers and the icebreaker crew.

It was the first time that FSUE “Rosmorport” performed an operation to evacuate a polar station. Due to the crew’s large experience of working in ice conditions, it was quite successful. Contemporary navigational equipment together with accurate calculations of the route allowed to perform the operation quickly. 

For information:
The North Pole – 2015 seasonal drifting station opened on 18 April. During its drift a range of meteorological, upper-air, oceanological and glaciological observations were made, and a number of hydrochemical, hydrobiological and magnetometric research were performed. The station closed on 9 August, and within two days it was evacuated to the Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker. During the evacuation hi-tech research equipment, heavy equipment and waste were transmitted to the icebreaker.