RV Professor Khlustin Starts Kamchatka and Kuril Islands Survey

A grand ceremony was held in Vladivostok to mark the start of a special voyage for research and training ship Professor Khlustin, which is sponsored by Sovcomflot in collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Transport and the Russian Geographical Society (RGS).

The ceremony was attended by: Sergey Ivanov, Chief of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Yury Trutnev, Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Igor Levitin, Presidential Advisor, Vladimir Miklushevsky,  Mayor of Primorsky Krai, Sergey Ogai, President of Admiral Nevelskoi State Maritime University, and Alexander Poshivai, Head of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport.

Sovcomflot Group was represented at the event by Sergey Popravko (SCF Member of the Board) and Alexander Orlov (Head of SCF Unicom Vladivostok).

Following the ceremony, Professor Khlustin set sail on a scientific and training expedition to the coast of Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands. This expedition will be conducted as part of a project by the Russian Geographical Society to monitor the ecological situation and radiation levels in Russia’s Far Eastern seas. The expedition was first proposed by famous Russian explorer and Special Presidential Envoy for Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, Artur Chilingarov, who received official congratulations on his 75th birthday during the ceremony.

Expedition participants aboard research ship Professor Khlustin include experts from Roshydromet (Russian Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Agency), the Russian Ministry of Defence, Rosatom (Russian Atomic Energy Agency), Rostrebnadzor (Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights)and Admiral Nelevskoi MSU. Cadets from Admiral Nevelskoi MSU have also joined the crew and will undergo shipboard training during the expedition.

Chief of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Sergey Ivanov, made the following statement: “This voyage is of special significance not only for the residents of the Kuril Islands, where the research will take place, but also for the international community, which was shaken by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station disaster in Japan. It is also of vital importance due to the growth of the fishing industry in the Far East. The expedition team have been entrusted with the task of gathering accurate and objective data on the current situation in the region. This voyage will also give the cadets an opportunity to put their university knowledge into practice.”

Sergey Popravko, SCF Member of the Board, commented that: “As a graduate of Admiral Nevelskoi Maritime State University, I am pleased to be participating in this great event. In 2012-2013, under the aegis of RGS and the Russian Ministry of Transport, Sovcomflot took part in the restoration of research and training vessel Professor Khlustin. The ship was upgraded in class and reequipped with modern hardware, which will ensure reliable operations in the coming years. Today, this vessel continues to function in her new role; being both a centre for conducting shipboard training for cadets from maritime schools and a scientific research ship for RGS expeditions in the Far East and Arctic regions. For the ship’s latest expedition this year, Sovcomflot collaborated with Transas and the Russian Ministry of Transport to fit Professor Khulstin with special equipment to carry out ecological survey work in the north-western regions of the Pacific. We hope that this successful expedition will act as a symbolic gift to the man who inspired it – Arctic explorer Arthur Nikolayevich Chilingarov – who today celebrates his 75th birthday.”

Press Release, October 01, 2014