The Kara Sea is a real test for any seafarer. It is considered to be one of the coldest seas on earth. The largest Siberian rivers, the Yenisei and the Ob, flow into it, and only near their mouths water is a little bit warmer. Almost the whole year, like the East Siberian Sea, the Kara Sea is covered with ice and the water temperature in the summer barely rises to 6 degrees.
Arctic cargo transportations in the Kara Sea are severely hampered due to unfavorable climatic conditions. However, it is a part of the Northern Sea Route and through the sea, Europe is communicating with Asia. In the north of the water area there is Vize Island, where one of the most northern meteorological stations is located. Like the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea washes the shores of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya archipelagoes and several other groups of islands. From the north-east it is bounded by Severnaya Zemlya.
The logistics of cargo delivery to the ports of the Kara Sea involves
Several large sea bays are embedded in the mainland and create such territories as the Ob and Baydaratskaya Bays. On their coasts, there are several villages where geological surveys are conducted in search of oil and gas. Transportation to the Kara Sea must pass through the Northern Siberian Gates or Kara Gates, a strait between Vaygach Island and Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. This is a watershed between the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.
The path by which ships transport timber and sawn timber along the Yenisei and other rivers lies through this water area. For this purpose, Dudinka seaport, located at the confluence of the Yenisei and its tributary Dudinka, is frequently used. Transportation of oil products, technological and bulk cargo, timber is performed to this place. Metal ores, coal, sulfur and scrap metal, tellurium and copper are transported from the port. Vessels from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk can visit Dudinka all year round.
Another port involved in the delivery of goods across the Kara Sea is Dikson, which belongs to Krasnoyarsk Krai. Here, on the shores of the Yenisei Bay, there are polar stations, military towns and the same-name settlement. Fishing and hunting groups come to the bay by river: in spring they catch white whales and fish. Tons of extracted cargo are taken to large Arctic ports, where meat is processed at the plants.
The Kara Sea became the “home” for the oldest polar stations, built almost at the dawn of Arctic navigation. Physical conditions, climate, location make it very difficult for navigation. There are many areas where a ship with a large draft cannot pass, the sea is not only covered with ice almost all the time, but even the rivers that flow into it freeze earlier than others. The shipment of goods in the Kara Sea is complicated by the fact that there are few anchorages and currents are poorly studied.
Cargo transportation in this region is also carried out to the port of Sabetta (the Ob Bay), where liquefied natural gas is extracted and to Igarka, located in the same-name stream, from which timber is exported. Amderma, the terminal
