Research vessel returned to Arkhangelsk
The Russian scientific research vessel “Akademik Fedorov” has returned to Russia after a nearly three months long study of the Arctic boundaries of the Russian Continental Shelf.
The vessel came to Arkhangelsk on Thursday after what has been said to be the largest Russian expedition in ten years time.
The main purpose of the expedition was to get a relief of the sea bottom in order to prove that the underwater Arctic ridges Lomonosov and Mendeleyev are geological continuations of the Russian continental shelf. If Russia can prove this, the country will get the right to exploit the enormous oil and gas fields in the triangle Chukotka-Murmansk-North Pole.
Russia plans to submit a new application to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in the beginning of 2014.
- The data gathered by “Akademik Fedorov” will contribute that the Russian Continental Shelf will be expanded with 1.2 million square kilometers, said Head of the Federal Agency of Mineral Resouces (Rosnedra) Anatoly Ledovskikh when welcoming “Akademik Fedorov”, website B-port.com reports.
As BarentsObserver reported, Russia has allocated 35 million EUR to Arctic research missions in 2010-2011.
