ARKHANGELSK, July 9. /TASS/. A solemn see-off ceremony was held in Arkhangelsk for the Mikhail Somov scientific expedition vessel departing for a voyage to deliver supplies to polar stations on the Northern Sea Route on the day of the vessel's 50th anniversary, a TASS correspondent reported.
On July 8, 1975, the USSR ensign was flown on the Mikhail Somov at the Kherson Shipyard and that date is considered the vessel's birthday.
"This is an important event, a historical event, and it is very symbolic. This year, we are celebrating three big anniversaries. The first one is the 50th anniversary of the Mikhail Somov scientific expedition vessel, which is why we are here today. We are also celebrating beginning of the Northern Sea District development," the Arkhangelsk Region's Governor Alexander Tsybulsky said at the ceremony. "And this year, of course, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. I must say that the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route played a crucial role in this victory. This route was used by warships, cargo vessels."
Over the 50-year history, the Mikhail Somov has been on dozens of expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, made a significant contribution to their research and development, and to the Northern Sea Route development. For recent 25 years, the vessel has been working for the Russian Hydrometeorology Service and has been delivering vital supplies and shifts of polar explorers to weather stations and other facilities on the Arctic Ocean's remote islands and coast. "On one hand, 50 years is probably a pretty good age for a ship. On the other hand, we have seen this wonderful vessel from the inside, and it is in excellent technical condition, ready to embark on the next voyage," the Russian Hydrometeorology Service's leader Igor Shumakov said at the ceremony.
Artist Lada Podolskaya presented to the Mikhail Somov her painting of the legendary vessel. She has participated in an expedition aboard the Mikhail Somov.
About the voyage
The second supply voyage of this year's navigation will continue for six weeks. The route will cross the White, Barents and Kara Seas to the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago in the east and to Franz Josef Land in the north. During the voyage, supplies will be delivered, and specialists will conduct maintenance works at 17 polar stations.
The vessel has onboard a shift of polar explorers, as well as food, fuel, building materials and other cargoes to ensure work of meteorologists at hard-to-reach stations. New equipment will be delivered to a number of stations, for example, it is planned to deliver and install a new diesel facility at the Sosnovets station, and the Mikhail Somov will deliver a solar power plant to the Popov MG-2, an ice tower to MG-2 Khodovarikha, and a new modular weather station building to the Ushakov MG-2.
Agreement with meteorology service
The governor and the meteorology service's leader on board the Mikhail Somov signed a cooperation agreement on most important areas: hydrometeorology, monitoring the environment's conditions and pollution, hazardous phenomena alerts, informing about actual risks, including conditions of the atmosphere and surface waters.
In the Arctic, where a lot depends on weather and natural factors - from shipping and construction to logistics and industrial production,- the role of hydrometeorology support cannot be overestimated, the governor said. The region has been using Roshydromet's data actively, he added.
"For the Arkhangelsk Region and most of its services, cooperation with Roshydromet, especially with its regional branch, Sevhydromet, is of a strategic nature, since we always solve most difficult issues in cooperation with them. You always warn us about problems that we may face - high water, sustainable navigation and ice forecasts," the governor's press service quoted him as saying.