The Russian Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief continues to establish a safety system in the Arctic, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said at a meeting of the State Commission for Arctic Development and Government's Marine Board in St. Petersburg, Interfax reports.

"Currently, the Emergencies Ministry is establishing a comprehensive safety system for the Arctic. The system calls for setting up ten comprehensive emergency rescue centers in the cities of Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Naryan-Mar, Vorkuta, Nadym, Dudinka, Anadyr, Pevek, Tiksi and Provideniye town. Four centers are already operating in Naryan-Mar, Arkhangelsk, Dudinka and Murmansk," he said.

An Arctic rescue, training & research center is now operating, and four facilities for containing oil spills have been established, he noted. "According to the Emergencies Ministry, it now deploys 18,000 service personnel and 1,845 pieces of equipment in the Arctic," he added.

"By 2020–2022, we intend to have a strong presence in the Arctic, with new technologies, new ports, new transport interchanges, new offshore machinery and naval equipment," Rogozin added.