site.btaNaval Research Vessel RSV 421 Poised to Set Sail for Antarctica

The research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) of the Bulgarian Navy sets sail for Antarctica on Thursday, November 7, starting its third voyage in support of the annual Bulgarian expedition to the icy continent. The send-off ceremony at the Passenger Terminal of the Port of Varna will begin at 12 noon Bulgarian time, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy said. This will be the 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.

An EnduroSat laboratory will be inaugurated on board RSV 421 before the beginning of the voyage. The facility will receive, process and analyze data from space-based systems for observation of the land and ocean surface. It will also monitor ship traffic, ice floe, pollution and the hydrometeorological situation.

The ship’s 34-member crew includes three women, said the commanding officer, Commander Radko Muevski.

The vessel is expected to drop anchor off the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island in 50-53 days’ time. It will stay in Antarctica for about 45 days.

As before, a group of trainee cadets will be on board RSV 421, Naval Academy Rector Ft. Adm. Kalin Kalinov told BTA. Twenty of them, including two Romanians, will travel to Cartagena, Spain, from where they will return to Varna. Another four youths will stay aboard RSV 421 throughout the whole voyage.