The first Bulgarian military research ship, “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, set sail today at 14:00 from Varna for Antarctica. The send-off ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Naval Station, the Higher Naval School in the city announced.
The leader of the 31st expedition to the Ice Continent is Prof. Hristo Pimpirev. Its participants will carry out a series of projects on Livingston Island, where the Bulgarian Antarctic base is located. Among their tasks will be to examine the bottom sediments around the island and the presence of flora and fauna in them. In addition, the native polar explorers will continue to explore the land for mineral deposits.
The captain of the ship is Capt. Rank II Nikolay Danailov. The crew consists of 26 people, including three cadets from the Higher Naval School. The voyage is expected to take about 130 days, with 40 days to reach Livingston Island.
The ship “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” is owned by a consortium whose members are the Higher Naval School, the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, and the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute. The ceremonial act of raising the naval flag and assigning a name to the ship was held on July 27, 2021.
