Elling Carlsen Carlsen made his first voyage out of Hammerfest in Finnmark, Norway. In 1859, Carlsen discovered the island group that would later be named Kong Karls Land in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Although Carlsen is credited with the finding, the islands may have been first sighted by the whaler Thomas Edge in 1617. In 1863, Carlsen completed the first circumnavigation of Spitsbergen. During a voyage to the Arctic Ocean in 1871, Carlsen discovered the lodge of Willem Barentsz on the north-eastern shore of the archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. This winter camp had been used as shelter by Barentsz
Belushya Guba as an anchorage by Russian convoys between the Barents Sea and Archangelsk. A Soviet naval base was established in Belushya Guba in 1944. The settlement started to flourish in 1954, when Novaya Zemlya became established as a nuclear test site. In 1956, the whole indigenous population of Novaya Zemlya, mostly Nenets, were resettled from the islands. Belushya Guba is located in a deep bay with the same name, within a geographical area that is influenced by warm ocean currents. The natural conditions allow year-round sailing of all types and classes of vessels with minimal cost for icebreaking support. The bay