TSAMTO, March 11. The icebreaker Ilya Muromets, which sailed into the Barents Sea a few days ago to solve a number of tasks of icebreaking and hydrographic support for the Northern Fleet (SF) forces, has begun to carry out research on the plan of a complex expedition of the SF and RGS, which takes place within the framework of the patriotic action "Remember the War".
Currently, the icebreaker operates in the central part of the Barents Sea near the borders of the ice edge. The research team takes pictures of the bottom relief, simultaneously exploring the area in order to search for Allied ships and vessels lost during the Second World War, primarily from the infamous convoy PQ-17.
During the search in one of the areas previously noted by historians, a large underwater object has already been discovered, which requires a more detailed survey and study for subsequent classification.
It is planned that the additional survey of this object will be carried out by the multifunctional logistics support vessel of the SF "Elbrus", which will soon begin to solve the tasks of the complex expedition, as well as other vessels that will operate according to the expedition plan.
The expedition consists of several stages and will last until September 2021. It will be attended by underwater search engines of the Russian Civil Society, hydrographic vessels and boats of the Northern Fleet, the icebreaker Ilya Muromets, the multifunctional logistics support vessel Elbrus, and ships of the Kola Flotilla of heterogeneous forces.
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, and in 2019 were awarded the national award "Crystal Compass", the press service of the Northern Fleet reports.
