The 1932 expedition led by Otto Shmidt became the first to complete a voyage through the North Sea Route in a single season, aboard "A. Sibiryakov" icebreaker. On 28 July, the vessel left Arkhangelsk and headed east.
The crew had to replace propeller blades cut off by the ice, heave to, and hoist the sails when the ship lost the propeller entirely. Nevertheless, they achieved their destination after 2 months and 3 days: on 1 October, the crew entered the clean waters of the Bering Strait on a ship with makeshift sails.
