-ons
Ve
tude
IR"
See also par. 4.5.4 above concerning SIBIR’s "Ice Experiment" in
May-August, 1978, and the information in Pravda of May 31, 1978.
On June 4, 1978, Pravda published a report from the SIBIR' of June 3
entitled "SEVERNEE SEVERNOY ZEMLI", i,e, NORTH of SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA,
by V. Chertkov.
The convoy had passed 81? N., and to the south they saw Ostrov
Schmidt, the northwesternmost island of the group of islands, called
NORTH LAND (SEVERNAYA ZEMLYA).
Thus, they had chosen the above-mentioned alternative route north
of the islands.
According to the report, the convoy then had covered 1,150 nautical
miles, 670 of them through ridged heavy pack ice (cp. Fig. 6-7).
The position in these ridged pack ice masses was obtained with high
precision by the aid of an advanced satellite navigation system.
One ship only has rounded those arctic islands before, namely the
nuclear powered ice-breaker LENIN (44,000 shp), about fifteen
years ago. She then had to force multi-year ice, up to 2.5 metres
thick.
The above mentioned supposition that the new "Ice Experiment" with
the SIBIR' and KAPITAN MYSJEVSKIY will be successful seems to be
confirmed, as the convoy (according to a report in Izvestiya of
June 8, 1978, p. 3) has crossed the Laptev Sea and followed the
planned route north of NOVOSIBIRSKIYE OSTROVA.
On the 7th of June, at 12.00 local time, they were in the East
Siberian Sea and had passed the 155°-meridian. On the preceding day,
northeast of Ostrov Novaya Sibir’, the convoy had met multi-year
ice fields with severe nummocks. An ice barrier, 7 to 10 m thick,
had stopped the ships during 20 hours. The SIBIR’ finally however
forced the convoy through this mighty ice, thicker than any other
ship has ever managed to break.