Icebreaker Sedov

The "Sedov" was a Soviet ice-breaker fitted with steam engines. She was originally the Newfoundland sealing steamer "Beothic" and was renamed after Russian Captain and Polar explorer Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov.

This icebreaker sprung into fame because it became the first Drifting Soviet Polar Station.

In 1929 icebreaker "Sedov" went on the "High-latitude Government Expedition" to Franz-Josef Land carrying Soviet scientists.

In the summer of 1937 icebreaker "Sadko" sailed from Murmansk. Its original goal was to sail to Henrietta, Zhokhow and Jeanette Islands, in the De Long group and carry out scientific research. The purpose of the expedition was also to find out how could the Northern Sea Route be used for regular shipping and to explore the complex Nordenskiöld Archipelago. But the Soviet naval authorities changed the plans and the ice-breaker was sent instead to help ships in distress in the Kara and Laptev Seas.

The "Sadko", however, became itself trapped in fast ice at 75°17'N and 132°28'E in the region of the New Siberian Islands. Other two Soviet icebreakers, the "Sedov" and the "Malygin" who were in the same area researching the ice conditions, became trapped by sea ice as well and drifted helplessly.

Owing to persistent bad weather conditions, part of the stranded crew members and some of the scientists could only be rescued in April 1938. And only on August 28th 1938, could ice-breaker "Yermak" free two of the three ships at 83°4'N and 138°22'E. The third ship, the "Sedov", had to be left to drift in its icy prison and was transformed into a scientific polar station.

Ice-breaker "Sedov" kept drifting northwards in the ice towards the Pole, very much like Fridtjof Nansen's Fram" had done in 1893-96. There were 15 crew aboard, led by Captain Konstantin Badygin and W. Kh. Buinitzki. The scientists aboard took 415 astronomical measurements, 78 electromagnetic observations, as well as 38 depth measurements by drilling the thick polar ice during their 812-day stay aboard the "Sedov". Finally they were freed between Greenland and Svalbard by icebreaker "Joseph Stalin", the biggest icebreaker of the Soviet fleet at that time, on January 18th 1940.

ee also

* Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations
* Professor Vize
* Konstantin Badygin
* Icebreaker Sadko

References

* Albert Hastings Markham, "Arctic Exploration", 1895
* Armstrong, T., "The Russians in the Arctic", London, 1958.
* [http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/history/history_soviet.html Early Soviet Exploration]
* [http://www.tour-land.ru/extr/north_p/eng/hist_ark.shtml History of Russian Arctic Exploration]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,883959-1,00.html Saga of the Sedov]