Admiralty Shipyards (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC) will build the research expedition ship Ivan Frolov.
The corresponding contract was signed by the enterprise with Roshydromet, USC reported.
"Admiralty Shipyards" and Roshydromet signed a contract for the construction of the research expedition ship "Ivan Frolov".
The signing took place in the presence of Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, and Aleksey Rakhmanov, General Director of USC,” the corporation’s website says.
As noted in a USC press release, the ship is designed to support Antarctic expeditions.
After the commissioning of the Ivan Frolov, it will be taken over by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).
The ship is named after the famous oceanologist, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ivan Frolov, who headed the AARI for two decades.
According to Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, the new ship is necessary for the smooth operation of Antarctic expeditions.
“The new research vessel Ivan Frolov is necessary for the smooth operation of Antarctic expeditions.
Our country has five year-round stations and five seasonal bases on the continent.
The current ship, which delivers polar explorers and cargo to Antarctica, is already becoming obsolete, and there is just a little time left to commission a new ship, ”the USC press service quoted the minister as saying.
He added that "Ivan Frolov" will combine several functions.
Unloading of provisions to the Mirny station during the scientific expedition of Roshydromet on the vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov to Antarctica
© Nikita Nazarov
The Ivan Frolov will be a five-in-one vessel: a tanker, an icebreaker, a passenger, cargo and scientific vessel.
It will be built by the Admiralty Shipyards - St. Petersburg shipbuilders have simply huge competencies.
As an example, they built the North Pole ice-resistant self-propelled platform, unique for the whole world, which is now drifting in the high-latitude Arctic,” said Alexander Kozlov.
In turn, the head of USC Alexei Rakhmanov noted that "the future of scientific research on the icy continent, the comfortable life of our people in harsh conditions, the continued presence of the Russian flag there" largely depend on the construction of this ship.
"Multifunctional Vessel"
As noted in the materials of the USC, "Ivan Frolov" will refer to the vessels of the ice class Arc7.
Its length will be about 165 m, and the displacement - about 25 thousand tons. Up to 20 laboratories can be accommodated on board, as well as a hangar for two helicopters and a platform that allows you to receive Mi-8, Mi-38 and Ka-32 helicopters.
The number of crew and special personnel of the new research expedition vessel will be 240 people.
It is planned that "Ivan Frolov" will be in operation for at least 30 years.
At the moment, two research vessels are engaged in supplying Antarctic expeditions: Akademik Tryoshnikov and Akademik Fedorov.
The first one was put into operation in 2012.
"Ivan Frolov" is intended to replace the ship "Akademik Fedorov", which was built in 1987 and, as analysts say, is already outdated.
The scientific expedition ship Akademik Fedorov returned to St. Petersburg after visiting the Antarctic stations Mirny, Progress, Novolazarevskaya and others.
With the return of the vessel, the work under the program of the 51st seasonal Antarctic expedition is being completed.
RIA News
© Sergey Kompaniychenko
“The ship “Akademik Fedorov” is almost 40 years old.
It annually went to the Antarctic, and all trips there are associated with difficult ice conditions, so, of course, its hull and mechanisms are already worn out, although it can still perform its tasks.
But he still needs a replacement.
In addition, sending one ship to Antarctica is fraught, because there are no more ships there: if something happens to it, then there will be no one to wait for help, especially in today's political situation.
Therefore, a replacement is simply necessary, ”Arkady Soshnikov, the former head of the AARI scientific expeditionary fleet, honorary polar explorer, honored worker of Roshydromet, said in an interview with RT.
A similar opinion is shared by the historian of the fleet, executive director of the Novosti mashinostroeniya portal Dmitry Zhavoronkov.
"Akademik Fedorov" and "Akademik Tryoshnikov" are excellent ships.
However, they have a number of limitations in terms of the volume and size of cargo, as well as their functionality... As time goes on, we need new laboratories on ships, a higher level of comfort for both the crew and researchers.
All this provides for a new project of a scientific expedition vessel named after the outstanding Russian scientist Ivan Frolov, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.
According to Arkady Soshnikov, the ship "Ivan Frolov" will be built according to a special project.
“Such ships are created according to a special project.
The new ship will be both an icebreaker and an aircraft carrier, because it has two helicopters on board.
It will also be a tanker, as it transports fuel for all Antarctic stations.
Along with this, such a vessel also carries products.
And along with this, it is also a passenger ship, because 160 polar explorers are sailing on it.
In other words, this is a multifunctional vessel.
The project, of course, is unique in many respects,” the specialist said.
Exploration of polar latitudes
It should be noted that today Russia is investing heavily in the implementation of research programs in Antarctica.
In addition to the creation of a new ship, a new wintering complex is currently being built on the white mainland at the Vostok station.
Recall that Vostok station was opened in 1957.
It is located 1460 km from the coast of Antarctica at an altitude of 3488 m above sea level.
Living conditions at the station are considered among the most difficult at the South Pole.
Here, in July 1983, the absolute temperature record of the planet was recorded: -89.2 ° C.
Now all the living quarters of the station are covered with a two-meter layer of snow.
Only working buildings are located on the surface.
In residential premises, the average temperature is +15 °С, and in the working compartments, the dining room and the laboratory, thermometers can show up to +5 °С.
View of the research station "Vostok" in the area of the South geomagnetic pole in East Antarctica
© P. Astakhov
The new wintering complex is being created using modern technologies and will radically differ from the previous buildings.
It will consist of five modules, the total area of which is more than 1911 square meters.
The length of the constructed structure reaches 140 m, width - 13.5 m, maximum height - 17.5 m. The modules will be installed on 36 three-meter supports, which will allow the station to remain uncovered with snow for many years.
The modules will house scientific laboratories, residential and public premises, energy centers and technical units for water purification and storage systems, a garage, a gym, a sauna, a wardroom with billiards and a cinema, a modern medical unit with an operating room, pressure chamber, dental and X-ray rooms.
The complex will provide a comfortable stay and research activities for 35 seasonal specialists and up to 15 winterers.
At the end of 2022, it became known that construction and installation work on the site of the new complex had started at the station.
The assembly of three of the five modules provided for by the project should be completed in the spring of 2023.
The work is planned to be completed in 2025.
“The station has existed for more than a decade.
She's already gone under the ice.
In addition, infrastructure, energy supply, and human security systems require replacement.
There is a lot of construction going on right now.
The new station will differ from the old complex in that it will be mobile - on a special foundation with hydraulic lifts.
The stations that were built there before are all on the glacier - and they cannot be moved, because there is a very intensive snow accumulation during the year.
And the new station will be unbearable.
The project provides for the possibility of moving all modules on special skis, with the help of jacks and ground equipment,” said Arkady Soshnikov.
It should be noted that the Strategy for the Development of Russia’s Activities in the Antarctic until 2030, which was approved by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin in 2021, provides for the creation of a new wintering complex at Mirny station.
In addition, infrastructure facilities will be reconstructed at Russkaya and Novolazarevskaya stations, including residential blocks, laboratory complexes, power supply stations and treatment facilities.
Also planned is the modernization of communication and navigation systems, a phased renewal of the fleet of transport equipment.
"A gigantic volume of observations"
According to Dmitry Zhavoronkov, Russia has historically occupied a leading position in the exploration of Antarctica.
“Our country has always occupied a leading position in Antarctica in terms of both research work and its provision.
Russia is building perhaps the best polar ships in the world.
It is in this sense that the Ivan Frolov ship is of great importance, ”the expert told RT.
In turn, Arkady Soshnikov noted that Russian scientists have accumulated a huge amount of scientific observations in Antarctica and it is important to continue the implementation of this research program.
“More than 40 states and over 40 national expeditions are now working in the Antarctic.
And each country seeks to stake out its area for research, for the future of mankind ... The scientific program that our country has been implementing since 1956, since the opening of the Mirny observatory in Antarctica, is a gigantic volume of observations: meteorological, geophysical, glaciological and atmospheric .
Almost all countries use this information for climate forecasts.
The exploration of Antarctica is a very important branch of science that needs to be developed, supported and strengthened,” the expert concluded.