Spills

Soviet ice station NP-31; beaufort sea, alaska

NOAAORR-6837

issued
1991-09-16 00:00Z
status
cancelled 1991-09-30 00:00Z
self-cancels
1991-09-30 00:00Z
authority
NOAA OR&R
sea
Arctic Ocean
position
71.584, -158.392
source
incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z

Original warning text

Soviet Ice Station NP-31; Beaufort Sea, Alaska.
Beaufort Sea, Alaska.
1. The Soviet Research and Development Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic research Ice Station NP-31 was abandoned after it broke away from pack ice in July 1991, 150 miles northwest of Point Barrow, Alaska. When the island was abandoned, the Soviet researchers left behind 500 drums of diesel oil, 30 drums of aluminum powder, 10 drums of lubricating oil, 4 bags of caustic soda, 600 empty drums with residue from unknown chemicals, and 5 or 6 buildings. Normally, an ice floe would be caught in the Arctic Ocean clockwise gyre and carried back to Russia; however, this station was reported approximately 50 miles from Barrow. USCG district 17.
2. COMMODITY: DIESEL, ALUMINUM POWDER, LUBRICATING OIL, CAUSTIC SODA, UNKNOWN.
3. POSITION 71.584N 158.392W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6837: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6837

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