North Pole Since 2002, the Russians have also annually established a base, Barneo, close to the Pole. This operates for a few weeks during early spring. Studies in the 2000s predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free because of Arctic ice shrinkage, with timescales varying from 2016 to the late 21st century or later. The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at by the Russian Mir submersible in 2007 and at 4,087 m (13,410 ft) by USS "Nautilus" in 1958. The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about
French submarine Espadon (S637) front of her sail. On 13 August 1963 a fire in the torpedo room wounded and intoxicated four sailors, one of whom later died of his wounds. In May 1964, "Espadon" and "Marsouin" steamed under sea ice in the Norwegian Sea as far as 70° north. "Espadon" undertook significant modifications from 1966 to 1968, notably upgrading the boat's sonar, sail and rudders. "Espadon" has been a museum ship at the "ville-port" of Saint-Nazaire in the German-built submarine base since 1987. French submarine Espadon (S637) Espadon was a "Narval"-class submarine of the French Navy. Along with sister boat "Marsouin", the boat