MURMANSK, May 16. /TASS/. The Russian icebreaker Novorossiysk has sailed from the port of Murmansk to the Franz Josef Land Archipelago as part of the Arctic cleanup campaign, the port’s press service said on Tuesday.

The icebreaker will carry 28 expedition members and some 9 tonnes of cargo and equipment to Graham Bell Island, one of the largest islands of the group.

The icebreaker will also accompany the Andrei Osipov ship that departed from the port of Arkhangelsk a few days earlier.

Efforts to remove abandoned oil barrels and other waste from the Franz Josef Land began in 2010 after the visit of President Vladimir Putin.

Previous cleanup expeditions to Graham Bell Island took place in 2013 and 2015.