Cargo Transfer Raft Assembled on Board RSV 421

The crew of the Bulgarian military research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (NAVAL RSV 421) assembled a pontoon raft which will carry food, construction materials and equipment over to the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island. The ship is transporting supplies to support the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.

The raft consists of 135 plastic cubes. It is 4.5 m wide and 7.7 m long, and its loading capacity is 12 t. It has metal rings and bollards to secure the load and to enable the raft to be towed by boats, Master Bosun Stoiko Gospodinov explained to BTA.

When RSV 421 is anchored at Livingston Island's Emona Anchorage, a crane will lift the pontoon raft off the ship's summer deck and will drop it onto the water surface, where it can be loaded. The Bulgarian Antarctic explorers will use Zodiac boats to tow the raft to the shore, leaving it just metres from the St Kliment Ohridski Base.

The load will include building foundation units, sandwich slabs, a water treatment station and an office-container.

BTA's Daily News editor Konstantin Karagyozov is the only member of the media who is travelling on board the ship to Livingston Island and back, and will cover the Bulgarian expedition on site throughout the stay in Antarctica. All media outlets can use the Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log for free.