Ornithologists to Take Part in Next Bulgarian Naval Research Expedition to Antarctica

Mila Edreva, Filip Pavlov, Danail Voykov

Radko Muevski, Captain of the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (BTA Photo/Danail Voykov)

Varna, on the Black Sea,

05.11.2024 15:20

(BTA)

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Ornithologists will take part and observe birds for the first time when the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) sets sail on November 7 from Varna for its third polar expedition to Antarctica, said ship captain Radko Muevski for BTA on Tuesday.

Muevski noted that the route the ship will take will be almost identical to the previous two expeditions, lasting about 50 days and travelling through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea, to the Spanish port of Cartagena. There, the short-term interns from the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy will disembark to return to Bulgaria.

After fuelling and loading, the ship will continue to sail across the ocean until reaching its next port, Mar del Plata in Argentina, which should take about 25 days. From there, the research vessel will continue its expedition to the southernmost city on the planet, Ushuaia, where a group of logistic and scientific workers will board the ship. Muevski pointed out that with good planning and a convenient window of good weather, the Drake Passage could be crossed in 3-4 days, after which Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii will reach the Bulgarian base on Livingston Island. According to the plan, the crew, which will consist of 31 men and three women, will stay there for 45 days and will welcome the new year 2025 at the base, before they set sail for the return voyage after mid-February and arrive back in Varna in April 2025.

"At the upcoming journey we will again have serious logistical tasks, the necessary equipment for the new laboratory of the Bulgarian scientists is already on board," Muevski noted. The Bulgarian ship will also carry cargo for the Spanish Antarctic programme, which must be unloaded on Deception Island. The captain added that one of the tasks includes reaching the island of Snow, where equipment for measuring seismic activity and a hydrometeorological station should be placed. It is a joint project between the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and scientists from the United Arab Emirates, he said.

"If time permits, during this expedition we plan to reach Smith Island to take samples," Muevski said. He specified that this island is covered by a glacier and is quite steep, so there are few places to go ashore by boat. "We'll have to explore the area first," the captain pointed out, adding that among the tasks of the sailors will be the mapping of the local underwater terrain. For this purpose, the Institute of Underwater Archaeology will also assist with equipment. The information about the underwater relief will be useful both for navigation and for the implementation of Bulgarian scientific projects, Muevski pointed out.

/MT/