The Ivan Papanin reached Breid Bay with material for the Princess Elisabeth Station

Breid Bay is entirely blocked by thick sea ice. The nearest unloading point is BEL-RAM, 13Km inside the sea ice. The plan is to get as close as possible through the ice until the ice conditions are optimal for unloading (ice thickness, flat ice on the surface, etc.). The cargo will still be 10 Km away from BEL-RAMP, the access ramp mapped during the latest BELARE expedition.

The crew has had a look at the coast from where they are and have identified various points where the ice shelf is not too high, east of Breid Bay. A detailed survey by land (by ice actually) is scheduled. Sattelite images and data will be used to complement it in order to assess conditions as precisely as possible. Once the material will be unloaded, it still has to be conveyed to Utsteinen, the construction site of the Princess Elisabeth Station.