From above, this looks like a graveyard for ocean vessels, but a closer look reveals what some remarkable people are doing down there in what is some of the world's most unforgiving weather.
Published Feb. 4, 2022 10:17 AM EST | Updated Feb. 4, 2022 10:17 AM EST
There are cold-weather jobs like ski instructor and snowplow operator and then there are freezing-weather jobs like being a shipyard worker in the dead of winter in one of the coldest regions on Earth. This is no typical shipyard shift -- this crew is carving ice tunnels into the river, far beneath the massive ships, to create space for repair work to be performed.
Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia or Yakutiya, is a republic of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean. Every year, Yakutia must get its impressive river fleet ready for the new season of navigation, but the unforgiving winter climate there makes that task as absolutely challenging as is possible.
The extreme winter climate of far northeastern Asia is also referred to as the "Pole of Cold."
A row of ships docked in the frozen Lena River at the Zhatai Shipyard in Zhatay in the Sakha Republic, Russia. (Reuters)
"The Siberian 'Pole of Cold' is located within the Sakha Republic, or Yakutia, in northeastern Asia," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews. "In winter, it is the coldest inhabited area on Earth -- only the tops of the great Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets are colder," Andrews added.
Normally, high temperatures remain in the 30s below zero F (34 below zero to 39 below zero C) from the middle of December through the beginning of February. The normal low temperature is in the 40s below zero F (40 below zero to 45 below zero C) during this time period.
Last year at this time, the region dropped below 40 degrees below zero F (40 degrees below zero Celsius) for more than a month, making it one of the longest stretches of subzero cold in at least 14 years, according to The Associated Press.
In this frigid environment, shipyard workers use a technology known as vymorozka, which translates as "freezing out" and is useful in helping the workers maneuver their way under the bottom of a ship through a system of caves chopped out of the thick river ice.
"The best air temperature for vymorozka it is 49 degrees below zero F (45 below zero C) and below," Kirill Gizatullin, 29, who has worked at least five winters at the port, told The Siberian Times.
"The colder the better," Gizatullin pointed out, "because ice stays dry, easy to chainsaw and to pick. Several degrees warmer and it gets wetter, causing gloves to tear and instruments to stuck. So, end of February, beginning of March are the last working days."
The labyrinth of caves must be dug under the waterline in order to reveal the ship's belly and be large enough for workers to reach areas of the ship's hull that need maintenance and repairs.
A dockworker tosses cubes of ice from a tunnel he's digging beneath a ship in the Zhatai Shipyard in Zhatay in the Sakha Republic, Russia. (Reuters)
Using a chainsaw, pickaxe and shovel, it can take up to two months to dig a tunnel. "One wrong move with a pickaxe and a narrow cave under a ship’s bottom fills up with water, ruining months of work and potentially drowning the laborer," The Siberian Times reported.
When the upper layer of ice is removed, it takes some time for the ice to become thick enough for the next layer to be removed, shipyard worker Alexander Stolyarov explained to Reuters as he worked to excavate a ship's propellor that was damaged during the navigation season.
Shipyard worker Yelena Generalova describes how the challenging work in extreme conditions has improved her physical health. (Reuters)
"The ice forms to a certain depth; we remove it, then we wait for another layer to form, remove it, and so step by step we reach the damaged area and start the repair," Stolyarov said. "Right now, I am measuring the thickness of the ice using an auger to understand what layer can be removed," he said, referring to a tool that has a corkscrew shape and is used for drilling holes.
It’s challenging work, Yelena Generalova, one of the bundled-up shipyard workers, said. However, there is an upside to hours spent wielding tools in freezing temperatures, she adds with a chuckle while leaning jauntily against an icy snowbank. “This is real fitness. I have lost 25 kilos (55 pounds) in two months!”
More to see:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
No comments:
Post a Comment