Masters of artistic photography Yaroslav Amelin, Vladimir Vaskin, Andrei Ermakov and Alexander Terekhov, together with scientists, endured more than eight thousand miles in the waters of the White, Barents and Kara seas aboard the research vessel Kartesh.

Polar Expedition Kartesh will take part in the international Arctic forum "Arctic: Territory of Dialogue", which will be held in Arkhangelsk on March 29-30, 2017.

17 February 2017 –  the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation hosted the 2nd International Conference "Arctic-2017: Arctic: offshore projects and sustainable development of the regions".

March 2, 2017 - students and staff of MEPhI presented their projects to the expert commission of the "MEPhI Arctic contest", which they plan to design, test or develop in the Arctic as part of expeditions on the research vessel Kartesh.

We opened the "Arctic: step by step" photo exhibition by the Polar Expedition Kartesh. About a hundred photographs are housed in the Gallery of Classical Photography and will be available to visitors until March 19, 2017.

From February 8 to March 19, 2017, the Gallery of Classical Photography will host "The Arctic: Step by Step. Polar expedition "Kartesh" exhibition. The exhibition features the works of photo artists who, together with scientists, have traveled more than eight thousand miles in the waters of the White, Barents and Kara Seas aboard the research vessel Kartesh.

National Research Nuclear University MEPhI hosted a roundtable discussion dedicated to the joint arctic research of MEPhI and the Polar Expedition Kartesh project.

We are upgrading the R/V Kartesh; the 2017 expedition preparations proceed according to plan.

July 10, 2016 - Expedition participants returned to Vaygach Island and disembarked in the area of Cape Bolshoy Lyamchin Nos.

Early on the morning of July 6, the expedition participants arrived at Vaygach Island and visited a walrus haulout.

July 5, 2016 - The expedition participants set up a camp at Cape Sakhanin and prepared a research station inside an abandoned cabin.

July 5, 2016 - R/V Kartesh approached the coasts of Novaya Zemlya. The expedition participants disembarked at Cape Sakhanin.

July 3, 2016 - A group of expedition participants has been delivered from Naryan-Mar to the receiving buoy in the Pechora Bay, where the R/V Kartesh had been waiting.

December 1, 2016 – National Research Nuclear University MEPhI hosted a presentation lecture dedicated to the joint project of MEPhI and Polar Expedition Kartesh, the MEPhI Arctic research contest.

June 25, 2016 - The R/V Kartesh is heading to Arkhangelsk, having left the LMSU WSBS behind.

The 2016 Expedition participants visited the White Sea Biological Station named after N.A. Pertsov (LMSU WSBS).

The 2016 expedition participants arrived at Cape Kartesh White Sea Biological Station on June 23, 2016.

November 24 – Today we celebrate the Walrus Day, a festival designated for highlighting the decline of these marine mammals’ numbers. The Walrus Day was established in 2008 under the initiative of the WWF and the Marine Mammal council.

We publish new photos taken in Chupa Bay of the White Sea on June 22, 2016. 

R/V Kartesh docked in Murmansk, where she is spending the winter season.

R/V Kartesh returned to Murmansk today at 10 am, having completed all the research work in the White Sea. 

Photos of the Kara Sea and its shores

We publish new photos from the 2016 expedition

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition has finished just recently, and R/V Kartesh is underway again! The vessel left Murmansk this morning to head to the White Sea

Nikolay Shabalin, Polar Expedition Kartesh Project Head Deputy for marine biology and ecology and the LMSU Marine Research Center CEO made a report titled “Research results of the 2015 and 2016 expeditions on board the R/V Kartesh” during the plenary session of MARESEDU-2016 scientific conference.

As part of the V International Scientific Conference “Marine Research and Education: MARESEDU-2016” hosted by the Russian Academy of Science P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology October 18 to 21, Polar Expedition Kartesh creative director Yaroslav Amelin gave a lecture on the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition on board the research vessel Kartesh

Russian Academy of Science P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology is hosting a V International Scientific Conference «Marine Research and Education: MARESEDU-2016 on October 18 to 21. As part of the conference, we are giving a lecture on the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition

R/V Kartesh arrived in Murmansk on September 29 at 01 am. The 2016 expedition is successfully completed.

Kira Tchevel, 2016 Expedition participants, shared her photos taken during the research work on the Gydan Peninsula, the Taz Estuary.

Participants of the 2016 Expedition visited a Nenets settlement on the Taz Peninsula. 

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition carries on its work in the Gulf of Ob and the Taz Estuary. Pavel Kogan, chief engineer on Kartesh, shared his photos of expedition routine.

August, 26, Moscow - VDNH Summer Cinema and Lecture hall hosted Polar Expedition Kartesh lecture titled To the unexplored shores of Novaya Zemlya.

These photos are taken in the Chupa Bay of the White Sea during the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition. June 2016.

The 2016 Arctic Expedition participants visited Yuzhny island of Novaya Zemlya archipelago in July 2016. Astonishingly beautiful crystal clear water by the shores made the participants speechless.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants reached the easternmost point of the Taz Estuary as part of the ongoing research work.

Researchers change in Yamburg as the first “research” stage of the 2016 Arctic Expedition ended. The participants said their goodbyes to the vessel and shared us several pictures taken during their work on the Yamal Peninsula.

R/V Kartesh is now harbored at Yamburg, waiting for the new groups of researchers to board and supplies to be replenished. Meanwhile Dmitry Shirokov, 2016 expedition participant, decided to surprise his colleagues and the crew, trespassed the galley and cooked something finger-licking good.

After the interdisciplinary research work on the western coast of the Yamal peninsula, the R/V Kartesh sailed round the peninsula, entered the Gulf of Ob and reached Yamburg by 7 pm. Expedition participants are to experience lengthy research work in the Gulf of Ob. We wish them good luck.

Expedition participants noted that the Midnight Sun period is coming to its end. The first photo, taken by Kartesh’s chief engineer Pavel Kogan, features a sunset. The second photo was taken in a couple of minutes after the first one: it captures the sunrise.

Participants of the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition continue research works on the western coast of the Yamal Peninsula in the area of Sharapovy Koshki islands.

Kartesh entered research area at the western coast of the Yamal Peninsula.

Kartesh entered the Yugorsky Strait and crossed the border of the Northern Sea Route. The map features the vessel's location.

Naryan-Mar harbormaster Vladimir Budanov asked Kartesh crew to search for a barge that had been lost after a spring hurricane. The damaged barge was found on the shoreline of Dolgy island. No oil spills and stains were detected.

R/V Kartesh departed from the Nenets Oil Company fuel dock in Naryan-Mar. We express our gratitude to the Nenets Oil Company for their hospitality and for prompt high-quality ship bunkering service.

Over the course of the interdisciplinary expedition on board the RV Kartesh (June 19 to July 17) the vessel covered a distance of 3075 nautical miles, embracing a vast territory of the Western Arctic from the Kola peninsula to the Kara Strait. Research work was conducted in the coastal area of the Barents and the White Seas by the LMSU Marine Research Center in collaboration with the Polar Expedition Kartesh Project. Special focus was on the offshore and the coastal areas between Dolgy Island and the western coast of Vaygach island, as well as islands and fjords of the southernmost part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

Kartesh docked at Naryan-Mar on July 17. The first stage of the expedition is now over. The participants covered more than 3000 nautical miles from Murmansk to Narayan-Mar through Chupa, Arkhangelsk, Novaya Zemlya and Vaygach.

Veronika Samotskaya, ornithologist and 2016 expedition participant, shared some data on the ornithology work as part of the expedition:

The expedition participants visited Vaygach island and got in touch with the Marine Mammal council specialists working on the island on the night of July 16. After that Kartesh set off to Naryan-Mar.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants visited cape Rogaty in the northern part of Vaygach island. They explored the shore and talked to the local dweller, Vasily.

R/V Kartesh met R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, which had started its 66thexpedition, in the Kara Strait by Chayachy Island. Participants of both expeditions despite rain and rolling waves exchanged salutations and wished each other success in research work.

The LMSU Marine Research Center experts carried out a research of near-shore kelp beds in the area of the Novaya Zemlya bird colonies.

On the night of July 15, the Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants wound up the Novaya Zemlya research station, thus completing the 2016 season. During the 2016 stay, the Belaya cabin was renovated; we installed an iron furnace inside it. The expeditionary group sealed the cabin by nailing up windows to prevent polar bears from entering.

On the night of July 15, a LMSU Marine research center group carried out underwater fauna research on the Novaya Zemlya shores. Our colleagues – the Nerpa Expedition – appeared to lay anchor nearby. We departed to their location to exchange salutations and wish them a successful expedition, but unfortunately, as we approached their yacht, the expeditionary group was taking repose. We decided against waking our colleagues up and returned to Kartesh. We still had to say our goodbyes to Novaya Zemlya.

The Marine Research center specialists in collaboration with the Polar Expedition Kartesh project with the assistance of the Marine Mammal Council carried out research on the condition of the Atlantic walrus nutritive base. The research was conducted as part of the optimal Red Book Atlantic walrus condition and preservation research strategy program. The results of the expedition will specify the distribution of the basic benthic communities and nutritive resources of the Atlantic Walrus in the Pechora Sea.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants managed to take pictures of a unique Novaya Zemlya reindeer subspecies which is listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition visits Pukhovy Island, south of Novaya Zemlya. We met two polar bears who remained on the land and had not left the island via the floating ice fields. The weather conditions allowed us to take pictures from a boat.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants managed to discover extraordinary seita in the area of Ozerny Island, the southernmost part of Novaya Zemlya.

The LMSU Marine Research Center in collaboration with the Polar Expedition Kartesh project carried out ESI (Arctic adapted) coastline vulnerability towards human impact research program during the 2016 Arctic Expedition along the whole expedition route and during every disembarkation.

The LMSU Marine Research Center specialists in collaboration with the Polar Expedition Kartesh project sampled surface waters and bottom sediments in the coastal area of the Barents Sea as well as Matveev, Vaygach Islands and Yuzhny Island of Novaya Zemlya as part of the Northern Seas Microflora Ability to Purge Potential Oil Spills Assessment research.

Expedition participants did a volunteer cleanup of the coastline in the abandoned settlement of Rusanovo on Novaya Zemlya. More than ten people gathered non-decaying plastic garbage into bags and delivered them to the vessel for the subsequent disposal.

We discovered a Russian Arctic 2014 Expedition banner in one of the houses of the abandoned Rusanovo trading post. We got interested in the expedition, and as we return home we plan to get in touch with the 2014 expedition participants.

R/V Kartesh reached Petukhovsky archipelago, located in the south of Novaya Zemlya. Expedition participants visited the legendary trading post of Rusanovo, Ozerny Island and adjacent smaller islands. The LMSU Marine Research Center specialists continued researching benthic communities.

Early in the morning the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants revisited cape Sakhanin of the Novaya Zemlya Yuzhny Island to pick up researchers and photographers and to disembark a group of ornithologists. The data that will be gathered by the scientists is utterly significant and relevant, as now thousands of birds are covering eggs and are getting prepared for migration.

Andrey Bushuev, PhD, 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participant made significant and curious observations during the expedition. He shared his article on the barnacle goose population increase.

In the evening we wound up the research on the Atlantic walrus nutritive base. Kartesh is heading straight for Cape Sakhanin of Novaya Zemlya to pick up photographers and researchers and for the ornithologists to disembark. 

We were carrying out research works in the Pechora Sea and on the costs of Vaygach Island. Today, a group of Marine Mammal council experts disembarked on Vaygach, and the LMSU Marine Research center specialists continued to research the Atlantic walrus nutritive base. Meanwhile, ornithologists who also participate in the expedition, were researching birds on Vaygach, and the major part of the expeditionary group visited Andrey Vylka, a local Nenets and Vaygach old-timer. Expedition participants brought him rubber boots and products from the Marine Mammal Council. 

During two days, July 9 and July 10, the LMSU Marine Research Center specialists in collaboration with the Polar Expedition Kartesh project researched bottom landscapes between Vaygach, Matveev and Dolgy islands with a “SuperGNOM” ROV. Apart from that, the researchers collected macrobenthic smaples with two bottom grabbers (Ocean-0.1 and Ocean-0.25) to monitor the seabed ecosystems of the Pechora Sea and to assess the nutritive base of the Atlantic walrus. Simultaneously, researchers made initial assessments of the results at the onboard lab.

Expedition participants visit Matveev Island and an abandoned settlement by a lighthouse. The coast of the island is a favored location for Atlantic walruses: a large haulout is located here. The Marine Mammal Council experts, who joined the expedition yesterday, are conducting research works. They have changed trail cameras they had left here a year ago.

R/V Kartesh arrived at the receiving buoy in the Pechora Bay to exchange research groups and journalists. The bishop of Naryan-Mar and Mezen Iakov together with father Roman left the vessel, thus completing their missionary work within the frames of the 2016 expedition.

Early in the morning the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition visited a walrus haulout on Vaygach Island. Photographers and cameramen took pictures and filmed the red-book animals from a safe distance.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants reached Yuzhny Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. By 10 am the base camp in the Belaya Cabin has been being established. We planted the Russian flag, the flag of the Polar Expedition Kartesh project and the flag of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. By noon, the participants had visited the bird colonies where thousands of birds nest. The vessel left a group of photographers, camera men and rangers at the base camp and headed to Vaygach Island.

On their way to Novaya Zemlya, the expedition participants met thousands of eider ducks; they managed to observe a school of dozens beluga whales. The beauty of the nature revealed itself to the expedition between Medynsky Peninsula and Bolshoy and Maly Zelenets Islands.

Sergey Bedash, the Polar Expedition Kartesh head, ornithology specialists and MEPhI pess specialist Darya Zhuk joined the expedition in the Pechora Bay at 9 pm. As of now, the vessel is moving to Cape Sakhanin of Novaya Zemlya at full speed. The most difficult area of the one-and-a-half-day sailing is the Kara Strait.

Russian orthodox celebrate All Hallows’ Day, and Iakov, Bishop of Naryan-Mar and Mezen together with father Roman served the Divine Liturgy on board the R/V Kartesh. This is the first time ever Kartesh hosts a service on her board.

The 2016 Kartesh Arctic Expedition participants reached a tiny settlement of Tobseda located on the Barents Sea shore and installed an exhibition of their photography works.

The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants visited a weather station on Cape Mikulkin Nos on the eastern coast of the Kanin Peninsula. The participants fixed an exhibition of their photos, already sixth in this season. Early in the morning of July 2, expedition attempted to reach Indiga settlement by following the river.

In the night of July 1 the 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants disembarked at cape Kanin Nos, where photographers exhibited a couple of their works. Due to the sunny weather, which rarely occurs of the cape, the group of photographers and cameramen worked productively.

His Grace Iakov visited Shoyna with a missionary objective to establish a local orthodox community. All the orthodox inhabitants of Shoyna attended a prayer service dedicated to the construction of a new chapel served by Iakov and father Roman. 

His Grace Iakov consecrated the house of the settlement head Vladimir and the site of the new chapel construction. Until now, there were neither orthodox community, nor a church or a chapel in Shoyna.

June 30 - The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants visited Shoyna, a polar settlement located on the Kanin Peninsula. The photographers fixed up and exhibition of their photos on the building of a local community center.

June 29 – expedition participants reached Morzhovets Island in the White Sea and disembarked in a settlement by the lighthouse. The photographers gave the seven islanders several landscape photographs as a gift. Some of the photos have been immendiately fixed up on the facades of houses. Later in the evening the vessel departed to Shoyna.

June 28 – Kartesh departed from Arkhangelsk to continue the first stage of the 2016 expedition. Right after the departing, his grace Iakov, the Bishop of Naryan-Mar and Mezen together with Father Roman served a prayer service dedicated to the expedition start and consecrated the vessel in the delta-arm of the Northern Dvina. Archangelsk vistas drifted by, along the renowned harbor which saw embarkations of Sedov and Brusilov expeditions some 100 years ago.

The R/V Kartesh departed from the Karela coast of the White Sea and headed to Arkhangelsk. In a day, expedition arrived at the Mudyugsky-1 receiving buoy. We still had six hours in advance before we reach Arkhangelsk, one of the largest ports of the Western Arctic. At 3 am of June 16, Kartesh arrived to the Arkhangelsk Sea Port berth and took her place right under the construction site of the Michael the Archangel catherdral.

It was windless clam in the Chupa Bay of the White Sea, and Konstantin Galat and David Khayznikov managed to run the quadcopter and take this wonderful bird's-eye photo of the R/V Kartesh anchored at the White Sea Biological Station.

Konstantin Galat, the director and founder of the RideThePlanet project shared his artsy photos of the R/V Kartesh crew members.

June 24 - The 2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition participants visited the White Sea Biological Station named after N.A. Pertsov (LMSU WSBS) to get acquainted with the research and educational work on the station and to film a documentary about the expedition. During the visit, the photographers fixed up a street exhibition of the large-format photos, met the WSBS director Alexander Tsetlin and the LMSU Geology Faculty vice dean Mikhail Tokarev.

June 24 – R/V Kartesh received permission of the Northern Sea Route Administration to independently navigate in the NSR area in light ice conditions in the Kara Sea. The permission expires on November 20, 2016.

June 24 – Late in the evening of June 23 Yan Stelmakh returned home by a boat, and Kartesh headed to the old Karelian village of Nilmoguba. A renowned dive center is located in the village.

June 23 – Polar Expedition Kartesh project participants visited the White Sea Biological station of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zoological Institute on Cape Kartesh. The biostation director Alexey Sukhotin and the station employees gave us a tour around the station; we visited laboratories, apartment blocks, a museum and a library. Our project researchers discussed feasible collaboration between our organizations in 2017, selected topics of joint research that will be executed on board the R/V Kartesh.

June 22 – in the longest day in the year when the sun in the Chupa Bay does not set, Yan Stelmakh, the first captain of the R/V Kartesh got on her board. Captain Stelmakh, now in his respectable age, told a lot of vivid stories about the vessel until 1 am, looked through the 2015 expedition album and observed the restored vessel with nostalgia. He vibrantly talked with the new crew and shared his years-long experience.

2016 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition started at 8:50 pm from Murmansk. Before the start, all the necessary preparations have been completed, the vessel has been upgraded and crew arrangements done. We installed a new VSAT antenna which will provide unlimited internet connection to the expedition participants in any area of the Arctic.

Some of the Polar Expedition Kartesh project participants are the alumni of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute). Before the start of the expedition, we visited our alma mater, met with the University representatives and discussed potential future collaboration on theoretical and practical tasks, also attracting students to the project.

Our new photo album Kolsky - Vaygach - Novaya Zemlya - Yamal is prepared and finalized for publication. 

Arctic Expedition: Step by Step exhibition opens in the Arctic community center in Naryan-Mar. The exhibition was organized by the Polar Expedition Gallery project and the LMSU Marine Research Center and dedicated to the 2015 Arctic expedition on board the Kartesh. 24 works of the project photographers as well as the information posters about the MRC research work are exhibited.

The “Novaya Zemlya. Russian Arctic from view of researchers and travelers” exhibition opened in the Archangelsk Local Lore museum. It was organized by the Polar Expedition Gallery project in collaboration with the P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. More than ninety picturesque photographs of exceptional quality taken on Novaya Zemlya and Vaygach Island sparkled unfeigned interest among the visitors. About 200 people attended the exhibition opening.

During the meeting with the 2015 expedition participants held in the Darwin Museum, Andrey Boltunov, the Marine Mammal Council Executive Vice President, shared preliminary results of the Atlantic walrus research.

As part of the Polar Expedition: Step by Step exhibition, State Darwin Museum in Moscow hosted a LMSU Marine research center seminar titled Arctic Mysteries: Unraveling Step by Step. The seminar was dedicated to the research conducted during the 2015 Arctic expedition on board the R/V Kartesh.

His Grace Iakov, the bishop of Naryan-Mar and Mezen, consecrated an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Epiphany Cathedral of Narayan-Mar. The icon will now accompany the expedition on board the R/V Kartesh. This is a hallow sign for our project.

As part of the Polar Expedition: Step by Step exhibition, State Darwin Museum in Moscow hosted a meeting with the Polar Expedition Gallery project photographers. Landscape photographers Yaroslav Amelin and Alexander Terekhov told the visitors about expeditionary routine and complicated work with large-format cameras in unwelcoming arctic conditions and answered questions of the audience.

Our new photo album The Walruses of Vaygach Island is prepared and finalized for publication. The album is based on materials obtained during the 2015 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition.

The Arctic Region is alluring. Scientists, adventurers, artists, people of various backgrounds return there for the sake of new discoveries. The ”Polar Expedition: Step by Step” exhibition in the State Darwin Museum in Moscow features methods and approaches used by the marine arctic researchers from Lomonosov Moscow State University, and allows you to see the harsh land through the eyes of talented landscape photographers from Polar Expedition Gallery project. You will undoubtedly feel the mysterious magnetism of the Arctic.

The 2015 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition, organized by Polar Expedition Gallery project and the LMSU Marine Research Center, ended at the Murmansk harbor on October 16. The participants of the last stage of the expedition (photographer and researchers) disembarked.

The photographers examined the coast of the Kola Peninsula, enjoyed beautiful vistas of local waterfalls, creeks that flow into the sea, and snow-covered cliffs. During this short stop, photographers managed to gather rich material of landscape photos. 

The expedition participants visited Varnek, the largest settlement on Vaygach Island, inhabited by more than 100 people, predominantly the Nenets. A real winter has already started on the island. It was snowing heavily, the houses were wrapped up in snowdrifts, and the local dogs huddled up with cold.

On October 9, 2015, Kartesh made a stop at a familiar Cape Lyamchin on Vaygach Island. In August, the coast of the cape had represented one huge walrus haulout, but now it is abandoned. Nevertheless, a spot of melted snow on the beach indicated recent presence of walruses.

Kartesh stood down an anchorage at a picturesque bay near Cape Dyakonov, Vaygach Island. The expedition participants managed to have some rest after the long passage. They walked along the snow-covered coasts and visited an ancient Nenets shrine. However, the most memorable event for them was a sighting of a polar bear and a leash of the Arctic foxes, which are affecting this reserved corner of the arctic region. 

The cold arctic breath reminded that the navigation season in the Northern Sea Route is coming to end. Weather forecasts warned about ice fields some 40 miles from Kartesh. It was probable that the ice could seal the passage from the Kara Sea to the Yugorsky Strait. Wasting no precious time, Kartesh set course for Vaygach Island.

A thick mist fell on October 5. The passing was dangerous to continue without exterior assistance. It was of primary importance for some expedition participants to reach the settlement of Yara-Yakha to inquire about a helicopter schedule to Vorkuta. It was initially planned that several participants would fly to Moscow from Naryan-Mar, but Kartesh was delayed by bad weather conditions, and they had to stick to an alternative option.

The sea calmed down, and Kartesh continued her way along the western coast of Yamal to the Baydaratskaya Bay in order to research microorganisms and to examine submerged pipelines with remotely operated underwater vehicles. The expedition participants decided to stop over at a polar station called Marre-Sale, which dates back to 1912.

A new attempt to leave Bely Island and reach the Baydaratskaya Bay has been unsuccessful. The storm has not ceased. The captain decided to shelter the vessel at Bely Island and wait for the storm to die down. The expedition participants have returned to the familiar coast.

The captain attempted to sail along the western coast of the Yamal Peninsula to the Baydaratskaya Bay that day. The storm would not calm down, and Kartesh had to return to the coast of Bely Island. However, there is no great loss without some small gain. The expedition participants were finally able to start the first arctic bike ride along the Northern Sea Route coasts. 

When Kartesh left the Gulf of Ob, a brand-new French-made fresh water generator broke down. The crew dismantled it and figured out that the oil had started leaking right into the electromotor. The prospect to be left without fresh water until Murmansk dejected the team spirit. For the rest of the expedition the crew and passengers needed at least 10 m3 of fresh water. But the arctic region has a unique mutual supportiveness. The captain of the vessel Dunay, located nearby, did not stand by and shared fresh water with Kartesh, free of charge.

After having completed extensive research in the Gulf of Ob and the Taz Estuary, the R/V Kartesh proceeded back to Murmansk. Photographers Vladimir Vaskin, Alexander Terekhov and Andrey Yermakov got on board the vessel to capture picturesque landscapes of the Arctic at new locations.

LMSU Marine Research Centre comprehensive research activities in the Gulf of Ob and the Taz Estuary have ended. The end of September is approaching; the ice situation is getting worse every day, and it is high time for the expedition participants to return to Murmansk.

The LMSU Marine Research Center experts have conducted environmental monitoring in the Gulf of Ob and the Taz Estuary on board the research vessel Kartesh. The researchers collected samples for water and benthos contamination tests, studied hydrological water structure, collected hydrobiological samples and carried out ornithological and marine mammal surveys. They have concurrently assessed the coastline vulnerability towards human impact.

The LMSU Marine Research Center experts conducted ROV-meditated examination of the suspended underwater test wells in the Gulf of Ob and the Taz Estuary. The remotely operated underwater vehicle Mirage is a product of Rovbuilder, a Russian manufacturer. It is the first time the research was conducted by means of the Russian equipment in a complex environment (high velocity of current, high turbidity, poor visibility).

The LMSU Marine Research Center specialists tested all the machinery, equipment and tools required for the research operations during the passage from Naryan-Mar to the Gulf of Ob. A coring winch, a hydraulic frame, underwater navigation and precise positioning systems, Russian-made remotely operated underwater vehicles and sampling tools have been calibrated.

The photographers travelled a long and fascinating way from Murmansk to Yamburg on board the R/V Kartesh. On August 16, they disembarked to fly back to Moscow. 

R/V kartesh arrived in Yamburg. Expedition participants started loading equipment designated for the LMSU Marine Research Center experts. 

R/V Kartesh moored to Mys Kamenny of the Yamal Peninsula at 5:00 pm and was refueled by the vessel Turgoyak. We express our gratitude to Artyom Fomchenko and the Turgoyak crew for their assistance. 

R/V Kartesh sailed along Sabetta Seaport, designed to transfer liquefied natural gas developed at the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye gas field nearby and to export LNG and oil by sea. Sabetta is a rotation camp, located on the western coast of the Gulf of Ob, Yamal Peninsula. An arctic airport was put into operation in 2015; its strip is suitable for any type of aircraft.

R/V Kartesh sailed round the island and headed for the Gulf of Ob of the Kara Sea. 

A milestone event for the R/V Kartesh has occurred today at noon. The vessel entered the Yugorsky Strait, which separates Vaygach Island from the Yugorsky Peninsula. It is the first time for Kartesh to cross the border of the Northern Sea Route Area and to enter the Kara Sea. 

It is time to say goodbye to Vaygach Island and move on. The photographers spent several fruitful days on the island and got on board the RV Kartesh to head for the Gulf of Ob of the Kara Sea together with a team of researchers. The next destination is Yamburg, a High Arctic rotation camp. 

As assigned by the Marine Mammal Council, the expedition participants installed trail cameras at the Atlantic walrus haulouts on Vaygach Island for further monitoring. Obtained pictures will provide insight into haulout formation and walrus population change.

R/V Kartesh with the researchers aboard got back to Naryan-Mar to refuel and resupply. The Nenets Oil Company kindly offered docking facilities.

Expedition participants conducted safety meetings for the locals and the weather station staff; they gave a talk about polar bear hazing methods, distributed safety manuals and means to deter predators.

The expedition participants visited the Marine Weather Station named after Soviet geophysicist and academician Yevgeny Fyodorov. The station was opened at Cape Bolvansky Nos on September 15, 1950.

Having completed benthal sampling in the Pechora Sea, the Marine Mammal Council researchers, the WWF experts, the LMSU Marine Research Center employees and the Polar Expedition Gallery photographers embarked for Cape Rogaty, northern Vaygach Island. 

For ten consecutive days now brave photographers and ornithologists from the Maritime Heritage association have been held in ice captivity at Cape Sakhanin, Novaya Zemlya. Despite harsh living conditions, exhausting weather (wind speed occasionally reached 30 m/s) and polar bear hazard, the researchers managed to gather adequate amount of data, examine bird colonies, and study species composition and quantitative composition of the Arctic birds. 

R/V Kartesh received permission of the Northern Sea Route Administration to independently navigate in the NSR area in light ice conditions in the Kara Sea. The permission expires on November 20, 2015.

R/V Kartesh got back to Vaygach Island. Apart from scientific research, this time the expedition participants repaired the roof of a local dweller's house.

The R/V Kartesh is now at the Pechora Sea, between Vaygach Island and Dolgy Island. The Marine Mammal Council researchers together with the WWF experts were the first to examine the nutritive base of walruses in the area.

The Marine Mammal Council researchers together with the WWF experts thoroughly examined the Atlantic walrus haulouts as part of the 2015 Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition. The largest haulout, a habitat of 900 walruses, has been discovered at Cape Bolshoy Lyamchin Nos. Satellite tags have been installed on eight animals, which allows to track the pinnipeds’ location online and to study their migration paths. 

The R/V Kartesh set course for Naryan-Mar, the administrative, economic and cultural center of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. 

The day after the brave exporers had disembarked, severe arctic climate showed its nature. The ice situation in the south of Novaya Zemlya worsened dramatically, and 30m/s strong winds sealed the bay at Cape Sakhanin with solid ice fields.

The R/V Kartesh reached Cape Sakhanin at the southern tip of Novaya Zemlya

On her way to Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, the R/V kartesh sailed along the Kara Strait, or the Kara Gates; the strait is located between Vaygach Island and the Southern Island of Novaya Zemlya and it connects the Kara Sea and the Barents Sea. The shores are stony and cliffy; it is covered in ice most of the year. Due to complicated ice situation, the strait is considered one of the most hazardous parts of the Northern Sea Route.

The R/V Kartesh lay at the anchorage near Zelyony Island at the mouth of the Pechora River. The Pechora is one of the largest rivers in Europe; it flows into the Pechora Bay of the Barents Sea and forms a wide delta, which forms numerous spill-streams and many islands.

The interdisciplinary arctic expedition participants made a short-term stop at Cape Kanin Nos, which is located on the northwestern tip of the Kanin peninsula. 

We have successfully completed a cultural and historical project on commemorating early XX century Russian Arctic explorers during the first stage of the 2015 expedition in an abandoned settlement called Rynda.

A 2015 interdisciplinary arctic expedition organized by Polar Expedition Gallery project and the LMSU Marine Research Center started July 19 at 10:30 pm from the Murmansk harbor on board the R/V Kartesh.

Polar Expedition Gallery expresses sincere gratitude to Rosgosstrakh for prompt and well-coordinated work during insurance policy preparation. 

R/V Kartesh has undergone a major scheduled upgrade, which ended July 2015. The works started more than a year ago, and the vessel has been significantly overhauled and modernized.

An academic and research conference Seismic Technologies 2015 took place in Moscow Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences on April 13 to April 15.

A complex expedition The Arctic: Step by Step was presented in the Geography Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 

A marine photography festival and exhibition РОССИЯ МОРСКАЯ (MARINE RUSSIA) ran from March 6 to April 19 in Classic Photography Gallery in Moscow.