Broken Engine Delays Russia Arctic Mission
Date: 27-Jul-07
Country: RUSSIA
The repair of a motor blade on the Akademik Fedorov was carried out in the Barents Sea, delaying a mission which will include the planting of a Russian flag at the North Pole symbolically claiming the territory for Russia.
Global warming has melted part of the Arctic icecap, igniting a race to claim ownership of its rich energy resources.
Accompanied by media fanfare, the Russian expedition sailed out of the Arctic port of Murmansk on Tuesday.
A nuclear-powered icebreaker plans to smash through the Arctic ice to the North Pole, where the following command ship will launch a mini-submarine to scoop up seabed samples for scientific research and plant the Russian flag.
The breakdown of the command ship hours after leaving port forced the icebreaker to turn around and send a helicopter with mechanics and spare parts to the stricken ship.
Russian television reporters on board the Akademik Fedorov reported the broken engine had delayed the expedition by around 10 hours, but by early on Thursday the mission was once again steaming towards the North Pole.
International law states the five countries with territory inside the Arctic Circle -- Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark via its control of Greenland -- are limited to a 200 mile (320 km) economic zone around their coastline.
But Since 2001, Russia has claimed a larger slice extending as far as the North Pole because, Moscow says, the Arctic seabed and Siberia are linked via the same continental shelf.
