site.btaRSV 421 Completes Loading, Unloading Activities on Livingston Island

The Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) completed its planned loading and unloading activities on Wednesday. The transfer of Bulgarian and Spanish polar explorers to the Teniente R. Marsh Airport on King George Island was rescheduled for January 30 due to the specifics of the flights to and from this location, Commander Radko Muevski, the Commanding Officer of RSV 421, told BTA.

The Bulgarian Antarctic base continued measuring the depths and underwater relief in the waters of the South Bay.

Physicist Tsvetan Parov and geologist Assoc. Prof. Yordanka Donkova worked on the Johnsons Glacier. Seismologist Gergana Georgieva and physicist Vasil Gurev were on the Balkan Snowfield.

For this polar expedition, RSV 421 delivered food products, construction materials, equipment and tools for the construction of the new laboratory block to the base, as well as fuel and lubricants. The Antarctic expedition was also provided with a six-metre sea container for storage. Logistically, the upgrading and improvement of the current plumbing and electrical installations were provided. Construction and other waste collected during this season were loaded on board the ship.

Due to the previous lack of own transport for return transportation, a large amount of metal waste accumulated at the Bulgarian Antarctic base over the years. Since February 2023, the Bulgarian Antarctic expedition and the military crew of RSV 421 have been working as a team to transport waste to be treated at a later stage outside the borders of Livingston Island and Antarctica, so as to have no ecological footprint on the pristine nature.

The Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) departed from Varna on its third Antarctic expedition on November 7, 2024, and arrived at Livingston Island on December 28. The St Kliment Ohridski Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island opened for the new polar season on November 23, 2024. 

BTA has a national press club on the vessel and at the Bulgarian Antarctic base. This is the third year in a row that BTA has sent a correspondent to Antarctica. This year's correspondent is Milena Ostrovska, who arrived at the base on January 17. Her reports are available for free in English at the Bulgaria-Antarctica Log on BTA's website and can be used for free by all media with attribution to BTA.