JSC Rosgeologia and MegaFon announce the completion of the first phase of offshore research as part of the project to place a transarctic cable link from Asia to Europe. The research and surveying ship “Professor Logachev” arrived in Vladivostok after the completion of the expedition.
A fiber optic cable connection through the Arctic Ocean has been discussed for some time. The transarctic cable is to run from China and Japan to the Norwegian city of Kirkenes and to the Russian city of Murmansk. Several landing stations are planned along the way, including in Alaska and Arctic Russia.
As part of the work, the most difficult sections of the Northern Sea Route area with a total length of 6,500 km were examined or measured for ice conditions. The study included capturing the profiles and measuring the water depth with a multi-beam sonar. The work was carried out in areas with a depth of 30 to 613 metres. The expedition began on August 5, 2020 in Murmansk and lasted three months. During 105 days, the “Professor Logachev” covered about 16,000 km. “Under the difficult conditions of the Arctic, thanks to the well-coordinated work and professionalism of the project team, we were able to overcome all the difficulties and complete the work much earlier than planned. The conditions in the Arctic Ocean were favorable, and the entire survey ingesrant was carried out without the help of an icebreaker
“The first phase of the work has now been completed. The data collected during the expedition will be processed by
According to information, the cable will have a transmission capacity of 200 Tb/s. The project is expected to cost up to 1.2 billion Euros. A call for tenders for the construction work is due to be published in the course of 2021.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
