site.btaBulgarian Base Among Cleanest on Antarctic Peninsula - Prof. Pimpirev

The Bulgarian base the Bulgarian Antarctic Base St. Kliment Ohridski is probably one of the most environmentally friendly and clean bases in Antarctica, said the head of the Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, Prof. Christo Pimpirev. 

The Bulgarian Antarctic base has existed for some 30 years. Every year Bulgarian polar explorers, scientists, builders and logisticians work here, said Pimpirev, adding that before the acquisition of the Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), which is on its second Antarctic voyage, the base was "buried" in garbage. "I was ashamed of the inspectors from the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, who often came to see the barrels in which we stored it," noted Pimpirev.

"We had collected 300 rusty barrels, and there was a risk of them breaking and contaminating this purest environment on Earth," he said, adding that with the ship, all these barrels went for scrap in Bulgaria.

The management of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna (on the Black Sea), and the command of the research ship treat the issues of environmental protection with the utmost seriousness, said the head of the Naval Academy Flotilla Admiral Boyan Mednikarov. He added that the implementation of the requirements of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) are a fundamental issue for seafaring and the maritime industry. 

"Last year we accepted with great enthusiasm the idea of Prof. Pimpirev to start an environmental operation within the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.

Last year, about 2/3 of the available waste on the coast was utilized, and this year, on January 31, the second phase of the environmental operation was successfully completed," said Mednikarov. He explained that the last waste generated by the ongoing construction activity on the Bulgarian base has been collected. "I really confirm that this is one of the cleanest coasts of Antarctica that I have seen," he noted.

"We have already had requests from several bases in the area to take their waste with the Bulgarian ship," said Pimpirev. "Depending on the time we have left from assisting Bulgarian Antarctic research, we would also help the other bases," he added.

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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 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.