Russian Antarctic Station Temporarily Closed Down

Russia's Vostok research station in the Antarctic has been temporarily closed down because of fuel shortage, one of the station's managers, Vladimir Kuchin, told RIA Novosti.

According to him, fuel problems were caused by last year's failure of the "Akademik Fyodorov" vessel which usually ships cargo to Russian Arctic researchers. It was fixed in November, and in January the vessel arrived at the Mirny station, another Russian permanent station in the Antarctic, 1,400 kilometers from the Vostok. On January 28 several cargo carriers delivered fuel to the Vostok station, but the road train will not be able to arrive in time due to severe weather conditions.

To avoid taking risks, the station is to be closed down until the beginning of next year, Kuchin said. The researchers will be evacuated to the Mirny station.