RESEARCH OF NAVIGATIONAL AND HYDROGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FLAW POLYNYAS OF THE EASTERN SECTOR OF THE NORTHERN SEA ROUTE

Abstract

The possibility of using the areas of flaw polynyas in the Eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route in planning and choosing the routes for navigation of transport ships is considered in the paper. It is noted that shipping in the Arctic seas is associated with an increased level of risk, shallow seas and difficult hydrometeorological conditions, and is also characterized by insufficient or completely absent hydrographic knowledge of the bottom topography. The main data characterizing the increase in the number of issued permits for ships navigation in the water area of the Northern Sea Route, and the percentage of ships depending on the ice class are given. It is noted that in the cold season, the main navigable straits of the Northern Sea Route are covered with fast ice. Due to circulation and under-ice currents, flaw polynyas, which can be used when planning navigation routes, are formed. The main flaw polynyas of the Eastern Sector of the Northern Sea Route are presented; data on their width, length and range of depths are provided. It is noted that the flaw polynyas of the East Siberian and Chukchi seas are deeper than the polynyas of the Laptev Sea. The ships classification depending on the draft is presented in the paper; an analysis of the characteristic routes for each category of ships is performed. An analysis of the data received from the automatic identification system of vessels has revealed that the choice of route is seasonal and directly depends on the ice conditions of the water area. The relevance of the topic is due to the need to increase the duration of navigation in the Eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route, in order to achieve targets for the volume of cargo transportation. This can be achieved by choosing the route of the transport vessel along the areas of ice polynyas, which are a strip of open water and young ice.