Equipment Storage Building Constructed at Bulgarian Antarctic Base

On the eve of Bulgaria’s National Day, March 3, a day before the end of the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, the Bulgarian polar researchers finished the construction of a temporary movable building for storage and maintenance of technical equipment as part of the Bulgarian polar research base St Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island. Ignoring the harsh meteorological conditions, builders, logisticians, and scientists managed to erect the building before their departure for Punta Arenas in Chile on board the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) on the night of March 4 to 5. 

The Bulgarian polar expeditions take place during the Antarctic summer and during the rest of the year, from March to November. The St Kliment Ohridski base is closed for the winter, which creates the need for equipment storage space until the next season. 

Yordan Todorov, head of the logistics operations during the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, told BTA that the construction of such a building had been planned long ago. The building has a metal construction with a movable concrete base allowing its deconstruction and moving at any given moment, he explained. 

In his words, for many years the base needed such a building, because with each expedition the need for new technical equipment increases, and at the same time that equipment needs to be stored somewhere warm and dry during the winter pause. To be stored inside the new building are the polar researchers’ land vehicles, boats and their engines, a metal compacting press, and fuel for the base’s needs. 

The Bulgarian Antarctic base was partially built with resources of the Ministry of Education and Science in implementation of the National Roadmap for Scientific Infrastructure.

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

All media outlets can use the Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log for free.