The Akademik Fyodorov is a Russian research ship that’s been to both the North Pole*, and to Antarctica. This time-lapse video packs an entire 201-day Antarctic expedition into 10 minutes, starting in Cape Town, South Africa, and traveling around the coastline of the Frozen Continent.

What happens? There’s a lot of ice breaking—during which the Akademik Fyodorov seems to beach itself like a whale before backing up and ramming the ice again—and a lot of loading and unloading of cargo. It looks like the boat’s mission was to resupply several inland research stations. At one point, a helicopter unloads the coffin of a man who died in a fire at one of those stations. The Akademik Fyodorov shipped his body back home.

There are frolicking penguins, the construction of an entire airplane, and (at about 7:19) the construction on an on-deck swimming pool, which is quickly filled with frolicking Russians.

Thanks to Sedgeman for Submitterating!