VLADIMIR ARSENYEV and OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH

The full index of our ship stamp archive
Post Reply
aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

VLADIMIR ARSENYEV and OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:48 pm

Niger issued in 2018 four stamps and a miniature sheet for the 30th Anniversary of Operation Breakthrough, two icebreakers are depict, the ADMIRAL MAKAROV which has appears on other stamps see: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7590&p=7586&hilit=ARSENYEV#p7586 and the VLADIMIR ARSENYEV.

VLADIMIR ARSENYEV an Arctic cargo- supply ship was built under yard 5003 as a ship of the Type 10620 by the Kherson SZ at Kherson, Ukraine for the Government of the USSR.

20 November 1985 launched as the VLADIMIR ARSENYEV named after the researcher of the Far East, ethnographic and writer Vladimir Arsenyev (1872-1930), total 5 ships of this type have been built, the lead ship was the VITUS BERING.
Tonnage 13,514 grt, 10,700 dwt, dim. 163.9 x 22.45 x 12.0m, length bpp.145.4m, draught 9.0m.
Powered by Wärtsila Sulzer 12ZV 40/48 engines, 9,000 hp, speed 15 knots.
Accommodation for 43 persons.
Ice strengthened.
29 December 1987 delivered to owners, IMO No 8624400, homeport Vladivostok. Managed by FESCO Shipping Comp. USSR.

1998 Sold to Keel Marine & Engineering Ltd., Singapore reflagged to St Vincent and Grenadines and renamed DEEPWATER 2.
2005 Sold to Industrial Tools International of the United Arab Emirates and renamed PERSIAN PEARL.
2016 She left Iran under tow of the HURRICANE II for demolition in India under the name NEVIS PEARL.
09 November 2016 arrived at Alang and work commenced on 13 November 2016 by the breaker Mahavir Inducto Melt Ltd.
Sources: Robin des Bois Shipbreaking #46 – January 2017. https://www..miramarshipindex.nz and various internet sites.
Niger 2018 800F sg?, scott?, 3300F sgMS ?, scott?

Of Operation Breakthrough is given by Wikipedia:

Operation Breakthrough was an international effort to free three gray whales from pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska in 1988. The whales' plight generated media attention that led to the collaboration of multiple governments and organizations to free them. The youngest whale died during the effort and it is unknown if the remaining two whales ultimately survived.

Rescue effort
On October 7, 1988, Inupiaq hunter Roy Ahmaogak discovered three gray whales trapped in pack ice in the Beaufort Sea near Point Barrow in the U.S. state of Alaska. The hunter used a chainsaw to attempt cutting a path in the ice leading to open water. Fellow villagers helped the hunter by using water pumps to keep ice from reforming overnight. Word spread through the Inupiat community about the whales, and biologists from North Slope Borough, Alaska, visited the site and realized the danger. A Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane heavy-lift helicopter was tasked to create holes in the ice using a 5-ton hammer.

The first news story about the trapped whales was in Anchorage a week later. Rescuers tried to borrow a barge from Prudhoe Bay, to break the ice and clear a path, but the barge was locked in. The whales' plight gained more attention from the media as journalists called North Slope Borough and flew to the site. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent a team of whale biologists, and the United States Department of State requested the help of two icebreakers from the Soviet Union, the VLADIMIR ARSENYEV and the ADMIRAL MAKAROV. When the whales attempted to take the exit path, a swarm of journalists caused them to swim back. Jagged ice from the rescue effort also cut the whales, bloodying the water. While the whales remained in their initial area, they have given Inuit names Putu, Siku, and Kanik and English names Bonnet, Crossbeak, and Bone, respectively. The youngest whale (Bone), nine months old, died on October 21. On October 28 the ADMIRAL MAKAROV broke apart a ridge of Arctic ice that was 400 yards wide and 30 feet high. The VLADIMIR ARSENYEV cleared the icy rubble to create a large enough path for the remaining two whales to theoretically escape.
After the path was cut observers could find no sign of the whales and the operation was declared a success. However, the remaining two whales were reportedly in very poor health at the time of the rescue and because radio tags were never attached it is unknown if the animals survived. The rescue effort cost US$1 million and was criticized by scientists.

Retrospect
A whale expert cited the rescue effort as a catalyst for a new public perspective about whales, saying, "Although the rescue of the gray whales trapped in the Alaskan ice involved huge expense to reverse a common and natural event, it underscored the changing attitudes of humans toward whales."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Breakthrough
Attachments
2018 operation breakthrough Admiral Makarov. MS jpg.jpg
2018 vladimir arseniev (2).jpg
2018 vladimir arseniev (3).jpg

Post Reply