The Kapitan Khlebnikov will provide icebreaker assistance for the vessels that will deliver construction materials and components for a station's new wintering complex. There are also 114 passengers and special personnel and 52 crew members on board of the icebreaker.
The Kapitan Khlebnikov is to arrive in the seaport of Vladivostok in December 2021.
The icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov was taken over by FSUE “Rosmorport” in 2016. From September till December 2018, it operated a series of voyages with passengers onboard from the seaport of Ushuaia (the Argentine) to Snow Hill Island (the Antarctic) under an agreement with Quark Expeditions. From July till September 2019, it operated a series of voyaged with passengers onboard from the seaport of Anadyr to Wrangel Island under an agreement with Heritage Expeditions.
The Vostok inland Antarctic station was opened in December 1957. It has gone through two renovations and three conservations, and now it is worn out by 90 % and is partly covered with snow. The aerodynamic shape of modules of the new wintering complex will give protection against snow drifts, a complex insulation system is installed in the 650 mm thick walls, the windows are equipped with pressure drop compensators, and the engineering systems are protected from freezing. The lowest air temperature on the planet (-89.2°С) was recorded at the Vostok Station. For almost 10 months per year, the station operates autonomously, for it is impossible to get here either by land or by air.