SEVERNY POLYUS-41 EXPEDITION (NORTH POLE-41) on the ice-resistant self-propelled platform (‘SEVERNY POLYUS’)

October 2, 2022 at 7 a.m. at 82°37’ N, 155°31’ E, Severny Polyus-41 Russian drifting polar station, launched by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute specialists, started operating in the Arctic Ocean.

The Severny Polyus-41 expedition was a continuation of the Russian program of drifting polar stations, which began in 1937 with an expedition led by Ivan Papanin. In 2013, the program had to be curtailed due to ice melting in the Arctic. AARI specialists analyzed and summarized the unique experience of previous expeditions and found the best option for long-term basing of research laboratories - Severny Polyus-41, the self-propelled ice platform.

The vessel, which has no analogue in the world so far, was built at Admiralty Shipyards and has been launched in 2020. For expedition members, the platform has become both a vessel and a home, a research center and even a measuring equipment, since sensors are built into the platform body to help studying the ice situation.

Severny Polyus became the third vessel of the AARI scientific expedition fleet. The project was developed in close cooperation between Roshydromet, Vympel Design Bureau and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. In the spring of 2018, a contract for the platform design and construction was signed between the Roshydromet and Admiralty Shipyards. Model tests took place at the AARI ice pool. The vessel was launched in December, 2020. Two years later, on May 21, 2022, on the Polar Explorer's Day, the Severny Polyus ice-resistant platform began sea trials. In August 2022, the Severny Polyus platform was put into operation. On September 15, 2022, the Severny Polyus -41 expedition was launched in Murmansk.