-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.