Présentation
The Arctic Ocean is a territory where man has no place: here there is no life, only survival. Between October 2021 and May 2022, I travelled in and around the Russian Arctic Ocean. I boarded four ships, visited five ports and met hundreds of people.
The Arctic has been fantasised about by explorers, artists and poets. This immensity, immaculate and deadly, has always attracted adventurous spirits, those who wanted to touch the very edge of the world, test their own limits, find breathtaking inspiration. Many men and women have given their lives for the thrill of discovery, to be the first to reach these places and make history. Making a new crossing, discovering a new island or simply surviving the winter were feats in themselves.
We now live in an age of exploitation and tourism. Adventure has been tamed, rationalised and organised. Commercial shipping has imposed its economic and safety standards, because the industry needs certainty and results to justify its colossal investments. The huge ships that ply the Arctic Ocean carry gas, oil or building materials - all the power of human technology is brought to bear to cross the ice. Nations are in competition, and the objective is no longer glory and the conquest of territory, but market share and economic influence. Geography gives Russia a huge advantage: it has the largest Arctic coastline and the only commercially exploitable sea route.