Day 18: Into Canaries' Territorial Waters

The Bulgarian navy research/survey vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (NAVAL RSV 421) entered the Canary Islands' territorial waters from Lanzarote around 2:00 am (CET) on January 13 (3:00 am EET). On the 18th day of its historic voyage to Livingston Island, the ship maintained a speed of 9.5 knots in favourable weather conditions.

NAVAL RSV 421 is headed southwest before turning south-southwest towards the strait between the islands of Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria, from where she will head to the Cape Verde archipelago.

The ship is sailing across the Atlantic en route to its second stopover, Mar del Plata in Argentina, where she is expected to arrive in early February. The ship's crew will be joined there by researchers of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute headed by its President, Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, as well as members of the Spanish polar programme.

Bulgaria and Spain recently marked 30 years of cooperation in Antarctica. The two countries' research stations on Livingston Island - Bulgaria's Sv. Kliment Ohridski Antarctic Base and Spain's  Juan Carlos I Station - are just several kilometres apart. Over the years, Bulgarian researchers most often reached the Bulgarian research station aboard the Spanish ship Hesperides.

This year, NAVAL RSV 421 is carrying supplies not only for the Sv. Kliment Ohridski Antarctic Base but also for Spain's Juan Carlos I Station on Livingston Island and Gabriel de Castilla on Deception Island, thus further strengthening the friendship between the two Antarctic research programmes.

BTA's Daily News editor Konstantin Karagyozov is the only member of the media who is travelling on the ship to Livingston Island and back, and will cover the Bulgarian expedition on site throughout their stay in Antarctica.