Servicemen with the Northern Fleet's environmental cleanup crew have removed and compressed more than 31,000 metal barrels on Kotelny Island in the Arctic, Andrei Luzik, Acting Head of the Northern Fleet's Press Service, told RIA Novosti. The amount exceeds last year's target by 1.5 times.

"Over 31,000 metal barrels have been compressed by servicemen with the Material Support Directorate of the Northern Fleet, who are involved in the campaign to clean up Kotelny Island from scrap. The environmental crew began its work on the island in early June 2016," Mr. Luzik said.

The latter added that last year's target of over 20,000 barrels collected, compressed and packed into shipping containers was exceeded by 50 percent. The work will continue until fall, according to Mr. Luzik.

Arctic research and exploration by the Northern Fleet has been in progress. This includes a variety of hydrographic and oceanographic activities, including determining marine and economic zone and the Russian continental shelf's boundaries in the Arctic Ocean.

Work is also conducted in the Arctic to ensure environmental security and clean up the territory from waste. For the past several years the Northern Fleet has been removing scrap metal from the Arctic and addressing other environmental issues. In 2015, the Northern Fleet's environmental crew collected and compressed nearly 30,000 metal barrels.