ST. PETERSBURG, April 30. /TASS/. The Kapitan Dranitsyn icebreaker, which resupplied the MOSAiC international polar expedition, set two records in northern latitudes as a diesel-electric vessel, press service of the Russian marine ports authority, Rosmorport, said.
"The Kapitan Dranistyn is the first ever diesel-electric icebreaker to get to the Arctic’s highest point - 88 degrees and 36 minutes northern latitude - in winter. <…> Another record is the unique refueling at the latitude of 84 degrees and 46 minutes from another icebreaker - the Admiral Makarov," the press service said.
The previous record was set in 1934 when the Yermak soviet icebreaker delivered coal for three vessels to a point at 83 degrees 04 minutes northern latitude, the press service said.
On September 20, 2019, scientists from 17 countries, including Russia, on board Germany’s Polarstern research icebreaker departed from Norway’s Tromso. The icebreaker has been frozen into ice. By autumn 2020, the Polarstern will get free from the ice in the Fram Strait. The route repeats Fridtjof Nansen’s drifting onboard the Fram vessel in 1893-1896.
The Kapitan Dranitsyn resupplied fuel and cargo and exchanged the expedition’s personnel. Presently, the Russian icebreaker is in Murmansk, where it has observed an obligatory two-week’ quarantine.
The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) international expedition studies physical processes in the Central Arctic climate system. The Polarstern has become an observatory for atmosphere, ice, snow, ocean, ecology and bio-geo-chemical measures and experiments.
In waters of the Northern Sea Route, Russia has eight icebreakers. Four of them are nuclear powered - Yamal, Taimyr, Vaigach (40MWt) and 50 Let Pobedy (60MWt). Another four are diesel-electric icebreakers - Admiral Makarov, Krasin, Kapitan Khlebnikov and Kapitan Dranistyn.