Moscow. March 5. The icebreaker Ilya Muromets has sailed into the Barents Sea to solve a number of tasks as part of the integrated expedition of the Northern Fleet (SF) and the Russian Geographical Society (RGS).
"Along with solving the main tasks of the campaign, the ships on the sea crossing will have to conduct a passing search for the ships and vessels of the Northern Fleet and Allies that died during the war, primarily from the infamous convoy PQ-17," the SF said in a statement issued on Friday.
During the expedition, the sailors "will also survey the bottom relief and collect hydrometeorological information on the navigation areas in order to clarify the current guidelines and navigational charts," the SF informs.
According to him, later the" Ilya Muromets "will be joined by a multifunctional logistics support vessel "Elbrus".
The expedition will consist of several stages and will last until September 2021. It will be attended by underwater search engines of the Russian Geographical Society, hydrographic vessels and boats, "Ilya Muromets", "Elbrus", ships of the Kola Flotilla of diverse forces, according to a press release.
From 2018 to 2020, the SF together with the RGS conducted several expeditions in the Arctic, the Barents Sea and the White Sea. "These expeditions were highly appreciated by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation," the report says.
