Fedor Konyukhov's boat withstood the tests of a 10-point storm. Photo: AARI
A truly historic meeting took place in the waters of the South Atlantic. On February 6, at about 20:00 Moscow time, the Russian scientific expedition vessel «Akademik Fedorov» passed 400 m from the «AKROS» boat, on which Fedor Konyukhov continues his unprecedented voyage. It happened at the coordinates 44’57 S and 14’39 E, about 1,400 km from the coast of South Africa.
According to the expedition headquarters, the «Akademik Fedorov» left the port of Cape Town (South Africa) on February 3 and headed for Antarctica to deliver polar explorers from the 70th Russian Antarctic Expedition, as well as necessary supplies and food, to the «Mirny» station. At about the same time, Fedor Konyukhov was in the epicenter of a 10-point storm and was sending distress signals about damage to navigation and communication systems.
Given the fact that the ship was supposed to pass near the area where Konyukhov was located in a couple of days, the expedition headquarters had the idea to ask the crew to approach the traveler’s boat within visual contact distance to make sure it was in good technical condition and, if necessary, to provide assistance.
The leadership of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI is conducting the Russian Antarctic Expedition) and its parent organization, Roshydromet, supported the request of Fedor Konyukhov’s headquarters and agreed on the approach of the vessels.
Judging by the photographs and videos taken by the ship’s crew, the «AKROS» boat has adequately withstood the strongest storm, the AIS system, which serves to identify ships, and the radio station are working. Fedor Konyukhov himself goes on deck and, according to his own words, feels well. This means that the expedition across the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean to Australia will continue. During a radio communication with the crew of the ship «Akademik Fedorov», the traveler thanked his compatriots for their moral support. He also said that he was very pleased to hear Russian speech on the air for the first time in 63 days of sailing.
The meeting of two Russian ships on the ocean lasted only a few minutes, but it will certainly go down in history. And we have the opportunity to see unique photos and videos taken by the crew of the scientific expedition vessel «Akademik Fedorov», which were published by Fedor Konyukhov’s Telegram channel.