Russia inspects dangerous objects along North East Passage
As part of the preparations for increased traffic along the Northern Sea Route, Russian authorities are conducting an expedition to inspect the condition of dumped nuclear reactors and other potentially dangerous objects along the coast.
On Wednesday the seagoing rescue tug Neotrazimy left Arkhangelsk for a ten week long expedition to Anadyr in the far eastern region of Chukotka. On the way, experts from the Ministry of Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Response (MChS) will inspect dangerous objects near the archipelago Novaya Zemlya and make port calls to the Dudinka, Dikson, Tiksi, Pevek, and Provideniya.
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Maksim Vladimirov from MChS says to RIA Novosti that the main goal for the expedition is to study the condition of potentially dangerous objects in the Tsivolka Inlet on Novaya Zemlya. Many objects containing radioactive substances are buried here, including the nuclear reactor from the world’s first nuclear powered icebreakerLenin.
The second task of the expedition is to find suitable locations for search and rescue bases in Dudinka, Tiksi, Pevek and Anadyr and evaluate the condition of existing safety systems like equipment for navigational and hydrographic support.
Russian authorities have said they will invest heavily in navigation safety systems along the north coast of Siberia.
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