October 14, 2021, PortNews
The icebreaker “Captain Khlebnikov” left the port of Vladivostok on October 6 on an expedition to deliver personnel and cargo to the Russian Antarctic research station “Vostok”. The icebreaker with 114 passengers and scientific personnel as well as 52 crewmembers onboard will travel about 7,500 miles to Tala Bay (Antarctica). The ship will return to the seaport of Vladivostok this December.
“Captain Khlebnikov” was taken over by FSUE “Rosmorport” in 2016. In September-December 2018, it operated a series of voyages with passengers from the seaport of Ushuaia (Argentina) to Snow Hill Island (Antarctica) under an agreement with “Quark Expeditions”. In July-September 2019, it performed a series of cruises with passengers from the seaport of Anadyr to Wrangel Island under an agreement with “Heritage Expeditions”.
The inland Antarctic station “Vostok” (“East”) was opened in December 1957. It has gone through two renovations and three conservations. As it is worn out by 90% and covered with snow in places, the comprehensive renovation of the facility is underway. The aerodynamic shape of the modules of the new wintering complex will protect against snow drifts, a complex insulation system is installed in the 650 mm thick walls, the windows are equipped with pressure drop compensators, and the engineering systems are protected from freezing. The lowest air temperature on the planet (-89.2 ° С) was recorded at the” Vostok” station. For almost 10 months a year, the facility operates autonomously – it is impossible to get here either by land or by air.
Source: https://portnews.ru/news/319942/
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