Balgarianovinite.com The Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) hosted an open day on Tuesday. The event marked five years since the vessel joined the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy and completed four Antarctic expeditions.
A queue formed and remained throughout the three-hour visiting period. Visitors were able to tour the vessel and learn about its role in advancing Bulgarian polar science.
“For the third year in a row, the ship has called at Nessebar Old Town. It is a wonderful feeling because locals value their own and want to see how those who grew up here by the sea have developed,” Captain Nikolay Danailov told BTA.
Danailov said he discovered his love of the sea in Nessebar, where he grew up. The vessel is in its fifth year with the Naval Academy and, as an “ambassador for the polar cause”, visits towns along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast to bring Antarctic work closer to more people, he added.
Flotilla Admiral (Ret.) Boyan Mednikarov described the creation, maintenance and development of the research vessel as a national cause. He said the strong public interest reflected public support for the Bulgarian polar programme.
“During our training and summer voyages, we traditionally look for opportunities to show this national asset to residents and visitors in towns along our Black Sea coast,” Mednikarov said. He added that the vessel had also been presented abroad, including in Argentina, helping promote Bulgarian polar science.
Mednikarov said visitors’ interest often focused on life and work on the icy continent. “Our guests usually experience a mild shock. The conversations always turn to what Antarctica is like, how cold it is and what we felt when we first saw the continent,” Mednikarov said. Acquiring the vessel five years ago gave Bulgaria a unique platform that significantly expanded the capabilities of Bulgarian polar science, he added.
In addition to serving as a scientific platform, the vessel has gradually established itself as a tool of international cooperation. Danailov said RSV 421 had served as an instrument of military diplomacy from its first year in service. It was the first Bulgarian naval vessel to enter the Atlantic Ocean and cross the Equator. During voyages to Argentina, Chile and Brazil, it established contacts with representatives of those countries’ navies.
Preparations for the next Antarctic expedition are already under way. “Preparations for the next expedition have entered a dynamic phase. We are currently sailing in the Black Sea to train the crew and practise the required procedures,” Danailov said.
Commander Radko Muevski, the vessel’s commanding officer, added that new scientific tasks were being planned alongside crew training and technical maintenance. These include expanding a joint project with Germany’s Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment in Oldenburg to study sea currents in Bransfield Strait, as well as new research into the characteristics of the waters around Antarctica.
Another new area is a pilot project examining maritime archaeology in Antarctica and maritime heritage around the South Shetland Islands through the Bulgarian Underwater Heritage Institute.
Danailov said the development of the Antarctic programme required a long-term vision. Establishing this capability five years ago put Bulgaria on the world map, and future planning should include a new research vessel capable of operating in both Antarctica and the Arctic, he added.
In 2021, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy acquired RSV 421 jointly with the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. The vessel is intended to transport Bulgarian polar missions to Antarctica, support research under the National Polar Research Programme and serve in the Naval Academy’s fleet.
On December 27, 2022, RSV 421 set sail on its maiden voyage to Antarctica as part of the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition. BTA opened a National Press Club aboard the vessel in 2022 and another at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base St. Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island in February 2024. Research Vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii Hosts Open Day 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-28 20:20:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law