Patrushev said that the vessels of the scientific fleet of Russia are worn out by more than 80%

Lack of attention and funding has led to obsolescence and reduction of vessels of the Russian scientific fleet, their deterioration exceeds 80%. This was stated by ex-Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, now chairman of the Maritime Collegium and assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev at a meeting of the scientific and expert council of the Collegium.

"Insufficient attention and underfunding of the development of the scientific fleet have led to the formation of a number of problems. Over the past 30 years, the fleet has become obsolete and has shrunk to a critical minimum. The average age of vessels is about 34 years. The vessels are worn out by more than 80%. Their operation is much more expensive than modern foreign analogues," Patrushev stated.

According to the presidential aide, the discrepancy between the composition and condition of the research fleet with modern requirements and the scale of urgent tasks "is a threat in the field of maritime activities and threatens to lose Russia's leadership" in the field of Arctic research.

"The established anti—Russian sanctions aggravate the accumulated problems," he said.

Patrushev pointed out that in such conditions, the tasks of "increasing the volume of scientific research, expanding scientifically sound ideas about the region and the processes taking place in it, the formation of scientific foundations, as well as the development of the research fleet," are of particular importance, TASS reports.