Russians claim vast swaths of Arctic Ocean

Russians claim vast swaths of Arctic Ocean

Pair of ships travel through ice, reach North Pole in attempt to claim petroleum-rich Arctic sea bed; to plant flag on seabed

DOUGLAS BIRCH

Associated Press

August 1, 2007 at 7:04 PM EDT

MOSCOW — A Russian expedition aiming to claim vast swaths of the Arctic Ocean seabed reached the North Pole on Wednesday, and scientists immediately began preparing to send two mini-submarines under the ice to mark the sea floor with a Russian flag.

The Rossiya atomic icebreaker plowed a path to the pole through a sheet of multi-year ice, clearing the way for the Akademik Fedorov research ship to follow, said Sergei Balyasnikov a spokesman for the Arctic and Antarctic research institute that prepared the expedition.

“For the first time in history, people will go down to the sea bed under the North Pole,” Mr. Balyasnikov told The Associated Press. “It's like putting a flag on the moon.”