US claims origin of Russian Arctic stunt
An American Arctic explorer claims that Russian researchers stole his idea when two mini-subs last year planted a Russian flag on the North Pole seabed.
Alfred McLaren, 75, a retired U.S. Navy submariner, would like to set the record straight and, as he puts it, “acquaint the Kremlin with the realities” of recent history and international law, the International Herald Tribune reports. He maintains that the Russian heroes of the moment did not mention that the dive had American origins. A major figure of Arctic science and exploration who spent nearly a year in operations under the ice, McLaren says he developed the polar dive plan and repeatedly shared his labors with the Russians and their partners - a claim he supports with numerous e-mail messages and documents. The two subs Mir-1 and the Mir-2 in late July last year made it to the 1311 meter deep sea bottom 47 miles north of the Franz Josefs Land. The vessels were launched by researchers and technicians on board the Academician Fyodorov scientific vessel, taking part in the big-scale expedition Arctica-2007. The Russian flag planting got wide coverage in international media and signalled enhanced efforts in the Arctic states’ efforts to secure rights over the Arctic shelf.
