site.btaBulgarian Delegation Visits Ukrainian Research Icebreaker Noosfera in Punta Arenas

A Bulgarian delegation, led by the head of the country's annual Antarctic Expedition, Christo Pimpirev, visited the Ukrainian polar supply and research icebreaker Noosfera, which had docked at Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, Bulgaria's Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy reported on Thursday. The delegation included Bulgarian Ambassador to Argentina and Chile Stoyan Mihailov, Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and Naval Academy Rector Boyan Mednikarov.

They were welcomed by Noosfera Captain Pavlo Panasyuk. He presented the capacities of the vessel, which has been in Punta Arenas since early January. Before that, the ship reached Ukraine's Vernadsky Research Base on Galindez Island in the Wilhelm Archipelago at the end of 2023. Panasyuk noted that Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions have not been cancelled during the war in Ukraine. The country invested in repairs on the Noosfera in 2023.

The Noosfera is a former flagship of the British Antarctic Survey, then called RRS James Clark Ross. It was built in 1990 and sold to Ukraine in 2021. A month from now the icebreaker will transport the new crew of Ukraine's Vernadsky Research Base and will carry cargo to the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station.

The Noosfera is 99.04 m long and 18.85 m wide, and its displacement is 5,732 t. It can take up to 75 people on board, including the crew, which currently numbers 23. The crew consists mainly of Ukrainians; it has also had a Chilean and two Indian members, the Bulgarian Naval Academy said. There are about 10 research laboratories on board, according to Panasyuk.

Pimpirev noted the longstanding cooperation between the Antarctic institutions of Bulgaria and Ukraine, and proposed that cooperation be expanded through joint work of the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) and the Noosfera, both of which were acquired only recently by the respective countries.

Mednikarov spoke about the current mission of RSV 421 and suggested collaboration with the Ukrainian ship in polar waters.