MSU’s Oceanographic Yacht to Help Learn More about Arctic Shelf

In late November 2021, a research vessel Rubicon Arctica was launched in Kaliningrad, Russia. The vessel commissioned by the Moscow State University’s center for geophysical studies is being built at the Ushakovo Shipyard. The construction cost is estimated at around 100 million rubles.

A 17.5-meter-long and 5.1-meter-wide yacht will be used to conduct research in the Arctic Ocean alongside the Northern Sea Route. The vessel is fit for high latitudes, with its bottom shell and critical areas of the hull reinforced with impact-resistant materials. The yacht is equipped with several sonars for seismic imaging, a power generator, a knuckle boom crane with a lifting capacity of some 3.6 tons, and mounting spots for a drilling device and hydrographic winches.

Studying the Arctic is not only about big research projects and multimillion investments, it is also about thinking globally, acting locally. Small-scale target-specific projects implemented north of the Arctic Circle add value to major systemic efforts aiming to learn more about the High North, fill existing gaps, and update our knowledge of the Polar shelf.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.