On a wet day, the 21st of June, the graduation ceremony was held on a quay named after Lieutenant Shmidt. The quay was in front of the SPbNI institute-house near the statue of Admiral I. Kruzenstern. It was he who made the first round-the-world voyage in 1803-1806 and was Director of the SpbNI in the years1827-1842. President of the HSR, Dr Nikolay N. Neronov, presented the 'Professor A. P. Belobrov diplomas' to the above-mentioned graduates (see photograph).

70 Years of the SUHD
On 25th June some members of the HSR, together with representatives of the Russian hydrographic community, celebrated seventy years of the State Unitary Hydrographic Department (SUHD) of the Ministry of Transport, Russia.
This Department was founded in 1933 to secure navigation along the Northern Sea Route from archipelago Novaja Zemlja to Bering Strait. About 1,500 hydrographic expeditions have been made by the SUHD over the past seventy years. In addition, it has established more than 2,200 different aids to navigation and edited seven hundred charts (including 177 in the English language).
A considerable amount of this hydrographic work has been carried out by SUHD hydrographers working in Antarctica. Now the SUHD is implementing a programme that includes installation of twelve DGPS stations along the Northern Sea Route and creation of a data bank of electronic charts that will meet requirements of IHO Standard S-57.
The President of the HSR, Dr. N. Neronov, presented a salutatory address from the Hydrographic Society, Russia to the General Director of the SUHD Mr Victor I. Medvedev. After the official part of the day, a concert was given and then a very good reception by SUHD Administration. A book named 70 Years of Polar Hydrography was presented to all invitees.
For further information on the SUHD please contact Technical Director Mr Sergey Reshetnjak (reshet@hydrograph.spb.su).

Contact
The Hydrographic Society,
Russia (HSR)
Att. Viktor Rybine
Kozhevennaja linija 41
Saint-Petersburg 199106
Russia
Tel/Fax: +7 812 350 5026