MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS Correspondent Sergey Rybakov/. On September 17, 2022, the North Pole ice-resistant self-propelled platform departed from Murmansk on its maiden expedition. This is a historic date, when Russia resumed the legendary drifting stations program, which Invan Papanin began in 1937. The previous platform had to terminate its last voyage due to the climate changes. Back then, specialists said the country needs a unique vessel which could stay at sea independently. TASS correspondent joint the crew on the maiden expedition.
Independence in Arctic
This time, the platform left for the Arctic ice for one year, but, should it be necessary, it will be able to work in those harsh conditions for two years. The North Pole-41 expedition's task is to freeze the vessel into an ice floe and to have it drift so that scientists could collect as much data as possible. The platform offers 17 laboratories on board, and more than 30 specialists in various fields work there: hydro-chemistry, ice conditions, meteorology, marine biology and so on. Long independent work in the Arctic requires big reserves, first of all - fuel and food.
Alexander Makarov, director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg), explained that the platform had been designed to save storage spaces.
"The solution was to have the unusually rounded shape of the vessel, which at the same time increases space and resists the ice compression - the platform is being "pushed up" to the water surface so that ice could not deform the hull," the institute's director said.
The screw-steering column, designed specifically for this platform, also saves much space, Chief Mechanic Alexander Serov said, comparing it with a manual transmission on the car.
"Noteworthy, it is unique, since all other vessels use eclectic Azipods (Azipod is a registered trademark under which electric propulsion units are manufactured for vessels of various classes - TASS), but they were not suitable for us - they take too much space. If we had an electric steering column, the engine room would have been enormously large, while to us every meter matters," he said.
10 tons of meat, 10 tons of potatoes
At exactly 5 a.m., the door of cabin No. 521 opens — the platform's chef, Anzhella (she specifically stressed this is the way to spell her name) Tsareva begins the working day. She comes to the galley and cooks breakfast for 50 people, at the same time she boils broth for the soup and makes meat for dinner. Her assistant is Olga, a barmaid. The second cook, Evgeny, joins the team in the middle of the day. They are only three there, so a daily shift is 12-14 hours long.
Everyone loves Anzhella. I also fell in love with her at first sight, or rather, at first breakfast. It's not just about the excellent taste, it's about the attitude.
"I do get tired, of course. When I come to the serving, I'm tired already. But who needs my fatigue here? I am here to bring positive emotions. I love my job. It's great when a person comes here, and the mood flies up. Thus, I meet people warmly, with a smile, wishing a good day to them - this is important," she said.
On the platform, she continued, they store ten tons of meat, seven tons of fish, about four tons of sausages, ten tons of potato, two tons of cabbage, two tons of carrots and two tons of beets, 3.5 tons of sugar, about eight tons of various fruits, three thousand liters of juices, about two tons of frozen vegetables. Anzhella had calculated the balance of vitamins and calories before buying all the stock. Every table in the galley has bottles of mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, adjika, soy sauce, hot sauce, teriyaki sauce.
"It's rather caring for the crew's psychological health (she laughs). Of course, it's impossible to please everyone, but still we are trying our best," she said.
Her team works all the time, even in a strong pitching. The galley's special equipment has limiters. According to the chef, they are not always helpful, but anyway a pitching is not an excuse to stop cooking.
"Hold with one foot, cut with the other hand," Anzhella laughs contagiously, and I involuntarily laugh with her, although, in fact, there is nothing funny about this hard work.
On board the platform there is a special holiday stock for birthdays, March 8, February 23, New Year. The team refused to tell me what they will be cooking for the New Year - they want to keep it secret to make a real surprise. It's a maritime tradition to call the captain "dad", and the chief mechanic "granddad". In this logic, it would not be an exaggeration to call Anzhella "mom." She is truly like a mom - smiling, caring, and cheering.
Everything is here
The platform is powered by three diesel generators, which in the sailing mode consume about 22 tons of fuel, provide literally everything — from light and heating to the sailing. This energy feeds another vital system - the seawater desalination plant.
"It's great this desalination plant does not require any thermal energy. Thus, it needs only seawater and electricity, that's it. Under high pressure, between 30 and 60 bars, the water is separated into fresh water and pickle. The side product goes overboard. This is a fully automatic process," explained 2nd mechanic, Alexander Birulya.
The ship has an elevator, a conference room, a galley, a gym, a sauna, a relaxation room that turns into a mini-cinema in the evening, a laundry room, an archive, even a small polyclinic. Cabins here are like separate apartments with a toilet, shower, workplace, air conditioning, TV, fridge, sofa and bed.
"We have all the urban infrastructures: we have our own power plant, our desalination plant, our wastewater system, recycling system, our own food stock. Everything is here, it's a fully autonomous city," he added.
Small polyclinic
The ship's doctor Denis Kuyarov tells us honestly he does not know how everything in medicine. That's just impossible. However, the desire to learn things to the maximum, to master something new is a life priority, and this position adds comfort to the crew.
In addition to this comfort comes a remarkably designed medical unit, which consists of a surgery room with a built-in sterilization room, an outpatient clinic, which, if necessary, can turn into a dental office, a climate-controlled medical stuff storage, and an isolation ward for infectious or severe patients. The equipment includes a portable ventilator, an intensive care kit, an X-ray, an ultrasound, a glucometer, and even a solarium.
"We have a solarium and it is not something extra. It is a purely pragmatic medical device. Many of us know that since the Soviet times, children, born during the period of low sun, have been prescribed vitamin D. We normally produce it automatically in natural sunlight. Since here we will be during the polar night, a solarium is simply necessary to avoid a vitamin shortage," Denis explained.
His sincere hope is to work less, but this is not due to laziness. When asked about a possible sanitary evacuation, muscles on his face tighten, he becomes even more serious than he was before.
"We are ready for it, we have everything we may need. Knowing that in any case, you will be helped, you won't be on your own is a very important psychological aspect. Human life is above all. I believe, people on the mainland understand this, so I have no doubts everything there is also well prepared," he said, after thinking for a while.
What do scientists want to find?
Olga Zimina, head of the expedition's biological research group, admits an expedition of the kind had been her dream for a very long time. Working in such unexplored and hard-to-reach areas is an invaluable experience, because experts will collect the data, which nowadays simply does not exist in the world. As for the Arctic, only drifting is suitable for these purposes.
"Working off an icebreaker is out of question. Firstly, it is expensive. Secondly, it is very difficult - they are not adapted for these purposes. The task of such vessels is to break the ice. While the drifting station format is what we need. These are the best conditions and the most ideal speed," Olga said.
Despite the impression of the Arctic as a lifeless icy desert, this place is more than inhabited, she noted. Especially the so-called subglacial environment - in the "inverted world" under an ice floe at subzero temperatures live different types of crustaceans and fish. Most representatives of the Arctic fauna will be later on taken to the mainland for further studies, and we will get closer to understanding of that region's natural processes.
The borders
Leader of the geological team, Viktor Bogin, studies bottom sediments, that is, how the seabed is formed. For millions of years, there have been cosmic dust, algae remains, fish remains, and other microorganisms. Discoveries in such a fundamental field are of interesting practical use.
"The Arctic is an international territory. Disputes about the continental shelf outer limits continue. The continental shelf is something under water, but still the land. The International Convention establishes that the continental shelf is the property of a country which has a land border there. Thus, by proving that some parts of the seabed are a part of this shelf, we can expand the Russian borders," Bogin explained.
Northern Sea Route
For Russia, monitoring the Arctic climate is also important from an economic point of view, because the country's one of the main maritime trade routes, the Northern Sea Route, passes through the Arctic latitudes. In order to understand which vessels and how many vessels will manage to pass through it in summer, experts need certain data, the accuracy of which depends on the observation period - the more data, the more accurate the forecast will be.
Denis Rize, head of the atmospheric research team, pointed to the fact that the Northern Sea Route navigation term had increased. In the past, it was four to six weeks in summer. Nowadays, this range is expanding.
"Monitoring and tracking is our everything. We monitor the situation and the more data we collect, the higher the quality of forecasts. The decision to extend permits for sailing along the Northern Sea Route will be based, among other aspects, on our data," he concluded.
Nesting-doll town
When the North Pole is moored to a suitable ice floe, a scientific town on ice gradually emerges around it. According to Alexey Baklanov, the expedition's deputy leader, the platform will nevertheless remain in its status as the main scientific base, and on the ice are pre-made houses with laboratories for additional studies.
"The camp will consist of four houses plus a transformer booth. We will get electricity both from the platform via a cable, and from a portable generator. We have an option of two electricity supplies, which is very important. Scientific equipment, as a rule, requires electricity. The people who will work there in shifts also require certain life support - light, heating, and hot tea, you know," he said.
The expedition has two tractors and four snowmobiles. Tractors will be used in the ice camp construction, and to make a runway. Alexey Baklanov stresses - in any emergency situation related to ice, the platform will become both a shelter and a home, and will continue to be a laboratory.
Alexey does not divide the people on board the North Pole into the crew and the expedition. For him, it doesn't matter what you are — a sailor, a captain or a scientist. Over a year of close coexistence, they will become one big team and even one family. This is what an expedition is about, he added.
A sauna, a gym, a recreation cabin with a huge TV, tasty and varied dishes - these all seem to differ so much from what Papanin had in the Arctic. Aren't they excessive, won't they draw attention from work, from key tasks? Alexey thinks it over...
"Dedicated people do not change. Those interested devote themselves to their occupations and work. I keep wondering - how could people sail here in storms? But yet, they did sail, did survive, or died, and still, they did come here," said Alexey, looking straight in my eyes. "This is not a relaxing factor - to be able to sleep, work, eat in comfortable conditions. This is the reality. Nowadays, people are offered to work in this reality, and if interested, people will find opportunities for this. Right, these opportunities are many more, but everything still depends on the person."