They will need a logistical chain that can transport food and supplies from Russia to Antarctica and transport oil safely from Antarctica back to Russia or allied refinery locations that are closer. The distances involved is almost 10k miles in one direction; a truly daunting distance for sea-farers.
The ships will need to handle temperature swings from Tropical Heat to Bitter Cold, survive traitorous waters like no where else on Earth, and avoid icebergs or two. Heard that current Russian Military Ships have problems with warmer water chocking out their boilers, so I am not sure if the civilian ships are better equipped.
There will also need to be a capable task force on hand to deal with any accidents and prevent ecological disasters from getting out of hand. Even Russia's allies would probably not want to see another Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occurring.
So yeah, they might have experience doing so on land and in their backyard, but Russia needs to see if they can do it at sea and on the other side of the globe, because that is an entirely different story.
Maybe, but how about doing so at sea?
They will need a logistical chain that can transport food and supplies from Russia to Antarctica and transport oil safely from Antarctica back to Russia or allied refinery locations that are closer. The distances involved is almost 10k miles in one direction; a truly daunting distance for sea-farers.
The ships will need to handle temperature swings from Tropical Heat to Bitter Cold, survive traitorous waters like no where else on Earth, and avoid icebergs or two. Heard that current Russian Military Ships have problems with warmer water chocking out their boilers, so I am not sure if the civilian ships are better equipped.
There will also need to be a capable task force on hand to deal with any accidents and prevent ecological disasters from getting out of hand. Even Russia's allies would probably not want to see another Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occurring.
So yeah, they might have experience doing so on land and in their backyard, but Russia needs to see if they can do it at sea and on the other side of the globe, because that is an entirely different story.
Nice high-effort comment! Interesting points. This stuff certainly isn't easy.