ST. PETERSBURG, August 30. /TASS/. The world's only ice-resistant self-propelled platform, the North Pole, departed from the St. Petersburg port heading for Murmansk to start another drifting polar expedition - North Pole-42, press service of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg) said.

"The North Pole unique scientific expedition vessel, an ice-resistant self-propelled platform, has departed from the port of St. Petersburg for Murmansk, where the North Pole 42 drifting polar expedition will start," the press service said. "With the vessel's support, scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute will conduct dozens of scientific studies that are important in studying climate change, routes along the Northern Sea Route and in ensuring the Russian Federation's hydrometeorological safety."

The route will be similar to the first expedition - North Pole-41 - from Murmansk the ship will sail through the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea, and north of the New Siberian Islands, according to the plan, it will freeze into an ice floe, with which it will be drifting for several months. Scientific work will be organized both in a camp set up right on the ice floe, and on board the ship in specially equipped laboratories.

"The ice-resistant platform allow us to use the most up-to-date equipment, to immerse instruments to any depths in the Arctic Ocean, to explore near space, to use satellites and unmanned vehicles," the press service quoted the institute's Director Alexander Makarov as saying. "We have managed to create a practically continuous program of interdisciplinary scientific research in the high latitudes of the Arctic, which will continue for many years. It has been impossible to imagine anything of the kind! The data transmitted from the ice-resistant platform is very important both for fundamental and for applied tasks that are strategically important for the country."

The North Pole is world's first ice-resistant self-propelled platform, designed for year-round expeditions in the Arctic Ocean's northern latitudes. It does not require an icebreaker to sail to a designated areas, it can drift for up to two years and return to port afterwards. The platform can take on board Mil Mi-8AMT (Mi-171) helicopters. The vessel offers comfortable and safe operation when the air temperature is minus 50 degrees and humidity is 85%. The speed is at least 10 knots. The displacement is more than 10,000 tons. The vessel takes 14 crew members and 34 scientific personnel. The platform is equipped with an onboard scientific complex of 15 laboratories, a mobile field camp for accommodation on ice floes.