site.btaRSV 421 Enters Area of Increased Risk of Pirate Attacks

The Bulgarian military research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) entered an area of increased risk of attacks by local pirates, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy reported on Thursday morning. The ship entered the area on its way to the Argentinian port of Mar del Plata on Wednesday at 18:00 ship's time.

The ship's crew was put on a higher state of readiness to counter potential attacks by fast craft and aircraft. On November 29, 2023, a firing exercise was conducted with the ship's weapons.

The ship began exchanging daily reports with the Maritime Domain Awareness Trade - Gulf of Guinea cooperation centre. RSV 421 is expected to sail in this area until December 2, 2023.

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During the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica, which started on November 8, 2023, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is publishing interviews with Antarctic researchers. The Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log again provides coverage of the voyage of the Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii to Antarctica and back and its stay there, as it did during the 31st expedition between December 27, 2022, and May 2, 2023. Back then, only BTA had a correspondent, Daily News Editor Konstantin Karagyozov, who covered the 127-day expedition with text, video and photos during the entire voyage (including across the Atlantic in both directions) and throughout the stay in Antarctica. In June 2023, BTA published in Bulgarian and in English an issue of its LIK magazine "To Antarctica and Back under the Bulgarian Flag" dedicated to the historic expedition.

Again, all of BTA's information on the Bulgarian scientific research in Antarctica and the support provided by the Bulgarian naval research vessel, as well as on the other activities at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, will be available to all media outlets in Bulgarian and in English on BTA's website in the Bulgaria - Antarctica: BTA's Log section.

BTA has a National Press Club on board the ship and is planning to open a National Press Club at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island.