The expedition - from the Russian base of Novolazarevskaya to the Ross Sea - is expected to take six months.

BBC: Ranulph Fiennes evacuated from Antarctic base

The expedition - from the Russian base of Novolazareskaya to the Ross Sea - is due to begin on 21 March and is expected to take six months.

BBC: Ranulph Fiennes pulls out of Antarctic challenge

One afternoon last winter, two ships lined up side by side in a field of pack ice at the mouth of the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica.

NEWYORKER: Neptune��s Navy

On January 19th, the day he moored his ships together in the Ross Sea, he wore a black, military-style sweater adorned with Sea Shepherd patches, and a rainbow-colored belt that held a sheathed knife.

NEWYORKER: Neptune��s Navy

The ship wound its way along the stunning Ross Sea -- believed to be the last untouched marine eco-system on the planet -- providing scientists with an important insight into one of our few remaining healthy waterways.

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Some have not been back to the sea loch in Wester Ross since the end of the war.

BBC: Reunion at Loch Ewe for Arctic Convoys veterans