After the first Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering (1725 - 1730) the Russian exploration efforts were continued by lieutenant M.P. Shpanberg and navigator I. Fedorov.
In 1732, together with the participants of the 1st Kamchatka expedition land-surveyor M. Gvozdev and navigator K. Moshkov, Fedorov in Sviatoi Gavriil (St. Gabriel) sailed to Dezhnev cape, the easternmost point of Asia. From there, after having replenished the water supply on the 5th of August, 'Sviatoi Gavriil' sailed east and soon came near mainland at the cape of Prince of Wales, Alaska. Fedorov and Gvozdev charted the north-western coast of Alaska and mapped their route. The expedition also discovered three unknown before islands.