MURMANSK, June 9. /TASS/. An expeditionary detachment of Russia's North Fleet, currently repeating the path of first explorers of the Yuzhny [Southern] Island of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, which separates the Kara and Barents Seas, has reached the Kara coast of the island, the press service of the North Fleet said on Saturday.

"The servicemen fulfilled the main task of stage one of the expedition they repeated the path that Leonid Grinevetsky, the Novaya Zemlya researcher covered for the first time in 1883, crossing the Southern Island from the Barents coast to the Kara coast.

After crossing the island's watershed, the expedition sped up significantly and covered about 90 km in one day. They finished their trek by the mouth of the river Savina.

In all, the expedition made a distance of more than 220 km.

As they got to flat terrain where any reference points were absent they testing the prospective navigation instruments. The new way finders supplied to the Russian Armed Forces at present ensured the precision essential in high-latitude areas and proved their functional efficiency.

The expedition also did the simulation of encounters with polar bears. The use of signal cartridges, signal flare pistols and false fires makes it possible to scare these dangerous carnivores away.

The expeditionary detachment of the North Fleet set out on the comprehensive expedition route at Novaya Zemlya on June 5. The total length of the route they are expected to cover is about 850 km. The expedition will last more than twenty days.