Following a six-week expedition to the eastern Arctic Ocean on board a nuclear icebreaker, Russian geologists discovered that one of three ridges found in the Arctic Ocean, the Lomonosov ridge, directly links the Russian Federation with the North Pole, which they said boosted Russia’s claim over the area. 

Under international law, the oil- and gas-rich Arctic region isn’t subject to one country’s ownership. Instead the five surrounding nations – Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia and USA – share a 320-kilometre economic zone around their coasts, and Iceland, Sweden and Finland have additional claims to it. To extend a territory, a state must prove that the geology of the continental shelf is similar to that within its agreed territory. Under the current UN convention on the laws of the sea, no country’s shelf extends into the North Pole.

However, as Geographical went to press, Russian Arctic explorer Artur Chilingarov announced his intention to lead another expedition to the area
in order to carry out the first ever Arctic dive to a depth of five kilometres near the North Pole to further investigate links between Russia and the Lomonosov ridge.

September 2007