FEATURES OF THE LIVEABOARD:
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The Kartesh is a unique liveaboard specially adapted for extended diving expeditions in the Barents, White and Norwegian Seas.
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Unique diving programmes take place on the Kartesh. The variety of these programmes makes for an unmatchable experience.
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The Kartesh is equipped for diving in the Northern Seas. Its design makes diving convenient, safe and easy. On board, you will also find all the little day-to-day comforts you need.
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The Kartesh’s crew has extensive experience navigating the Northern Seas. Knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of diving operations in the North, the crew are always ready to help divers with questions about diving safaris.
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The Kartesh satisfies all the requirements of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping Federation. It has no territorial limits with regard to its construction.
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The Kartesh acts as a base for video expeditions, which are organised as part of the ‘Russian Underwater Expeditions’ project.
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The Kartesh is equipped with the necessary technology for viewing video footage by both professional cameraman and amateurs.
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The vessel has been used for purely scientific programmes: ecosystem monitoring, marine resource research, exploration of possible locations of new marine reserves and other extremely interesting programmes.
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THE CREW
The majority of the crew members have a great deal of experience of specialised diving vessel service. That apart, most of the crew members have over 10 years’ of general work experience on the Barents Sea and White Sea.
Many divers who have been on safaris with the Kartesh have noticed the crew’s professionalism and teamwork, their readiness to help with any question divers may have, and their excellent knowledge of all features of the route.
UNIQUE PROGRAMMES CARRIED OUT ON THE KARTESH:
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Only on the Kartesh can you visit inaccessible, and consequently untouched, diving places, remote islands (for example, the Seven Islands (Semiostrovie reserve) and see with your own eyes things that maybe no one else ever has.
It is difficult to believe that the waters of the harsh Arctic Ocean hide a remarkable and paradoxical world every bit as diverse and dynamic as that of the tropical seas. To see this with your own eyes is a real discovery.
Each of the Kartesh’s diving safari programmes gives you the chance to feel like a genuine pioneer. Many of the dives take place at sites that are completely new; it is the first time that someone enters the underwater world at these specific geographic coordinates. There are many ‘blank spots’ on the bottom of the Northern Seas – because of the difficult diving conditions, even depths that are relatively easily accessible to divers have been little studied. -
Only on the Kartesh unique specialised expeditions, featuring guaranteed dives with seabirds (guillemots and puffins) and seals, are carried out. Very often this programme includes snorkelling with baleen whales (in the Long Bay (Guba Dolgaya) area.
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Only on the diving safari on the Kartesh you get the chance to participate in a biological programme exploring the underwater world of the White and the Barents Seas, as well as to attend authoritative lectures on marine biology.
One example is a programme exploring the life of the Kamchatka (Red King crab), which was introduced to the Barents Sea by Soviet scientists in the 1960s. For more detailed information about this remarkable experiment, which was for a long time considered unsuccessful, see here.
