site.btaCrew of RSV 421 Vessel Marks Naval Academy's Anniversary

The 143rd anniversary of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy was marked on board the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), which is riding at anchor in Livingston Island's South Bay opposite the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, the Academy said on its Facebook page.

The Naval Academy celebrated its 143rd anniversary on January 9. The Academy Rector, Flotilla Admiral Boyan Mednikarov, ranked the successful completion of RSV 421's first mission to Antarctica in 2023 among the major successes of the year. He noted that the ship gave a strong impetus to the cadets' sailing practice.

RSV 421 cast anchor in the South Bay on January 4 and is unloading on the shore.

Samples are being taken from the South Bay in preparation for a multidisciplinary project - an integrated study of sediment, biota and water components of the ocean ecosystem in the littoral zone of Livingston Island. It will be implemented by marine biologist Lyubomir Kenderov from the Faculty of Biology of Sofia University and marine geologist Raina Hristova from the Institute of Oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

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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 (RSV 421) 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.