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Russian Navy oceanographic research vessel arrives in Antarctic sea for exploration

The aim of the voyage is to identify the exact location of the South Magnetic Pole, according to the Navy spokesman
Admiral Vladimirsky oceanographic research vessel  Yuri Belinsky/TASS
Admiral Vladimirsky oceanographic research vessel
© Yuri Belinsky/TASS

MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The Russian Navy’s oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky has arrived in the D’Urville Sea in the Antarctic to identify the location of the South Magnetic Pole’s point, Navy Spokesman Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo announced on Tuesday.

"The vessel Admiral Vladimirsky has arrived in the D’Urville Sea, which washes the Antarctic, to carry out oceanographic research with the aim of identifying the location of the South Magnetic Pole’s point. The relevant report has come from the board of the oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky to Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov via a special communications channel," the spokesman said.

By now, the oceanographic research vessel has covered a distance of about 27,000 nautical miles along the route of Russia’s circumnavigation voyage devoted to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic by Russian explorers and the 250th anniversary of the birth of admiral and explorer Ivan Kruzenshtern. The expedition started in December 2019 and will last until June this year.

"Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov has ordered to analyze the data on the round-the-world expedition on a daily basis in interaction with the Russian Geographical Society’s center operational under the auspices of the Navy Main Command," Dygalo said.

The D’Urville Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, which washes Adelie Land in East Antarctica. The southern part of the sea lies within the mainland shoal and is less than 500 meters deep while its northern portion has a depth of up to 3,610 meters. Most of the year, the sea is covered with drift ice.

The hydrographic ship Marshal Gelovani and the oceanographic research ship Yantar are also taking part in the round-the-world expedition along different routes.

The oceanographic research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky was built in Szczecin (Poland) in 1975. The vessel is operational in Russia’s Baltic Fleet. It displaces 9,120 tonnes, has an operating range of 18,000 miles and a crew of 170 men.