Bapha, Aug 11, (BTA/GNA) – At the end of the year, the Bulgarian military research vessel Sts Cyril and Methodius will set sail on its first mission for the Antarctic, said Military Naval Academy chief Boyan Mednikarov on Thursday. He was speaking at the opening of a photo exhibition organized by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and the Association of Young Polar Researchers. It is hosted by the Naval Museum in Varna and one of its highlights is the vessel that Bulgarian polar researchers will use.
In a video message Prof. Christo Pimpirev, director of the Bulgarian polar research programme, recalled that a modern research laboratory is being built at the Bulgarian base on Livingston Island. However, he underscored that it is much more important that the Bulgarian researchers will have a vessel which is managed by a consortium.
Mednikarov added that repairs on the vessel are nearing completion and it will be test trialed and equipped. He recalled that the Bulgarian Navy flag was raised on the vessel in the summer of 2021 and thanked the Navy for its cooperation.
The maiden voyage will be from Varna through Istanbul, Cartagena, Las Palmas, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Drake Passage to Livingston island, said ship captain Nikolai Danailov.
He said that the crew will include 21 servicemen and a military doctor. Cadets will be included in the voyage for whom this will be a training practice.
A Bulgarian military research vessel has not passed Gibraltar, said Danailov. He explained that the voyage will take between 40 and 50 days in one direction including loading and unloading. The vessel is expected to transport nearly 50 tonnes of cargo to the Bulgarian base which will be unloaded on boats and rafts on a shore with no harbor.
The preparations of the crew are underway, said Danailov. He added that the equipment aboard the ship allows research activities to be carried out throughout the whole journey.
BTA/GNA