Our research ice-class vessel Noosfera has reached Antarctica. Its first stop in the new season was traditionally the Arctowski Polish Antarctic station. It is located on King George Island.
The ship’s journey from Cape Town to this island was 4,294 miles (6,910 km) and took 17 days. Thanks to the experience of Captain Andriy Starish, the RV Noosfera managed to avoid storms, and even the Drake Passage, known for its huge waves, was quite gentle with our team. Look at the photo to see how it was.
Unloading of Noosfera will continue in the coming days. This time, there’s a lot of cargo, as the construction of new facilities is underway at Arсtowsky and it is currently in the final stage.
The next stop will be Punta Arenas, Chile. There, the members of the Ukrainian seasonal expedition will board the ship. 🇺🇦 They will head to Akademik Vernadsky station to conduct additional research and urgent work on the modernization of the station.
🇵🇱 It’s worth noting that Ukrainian-Polish logistics cooperation has been going on for the fourth year in a row. It began in March 2022, when, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Polish Antarctic Program in solidarity with Ukraine terminated its existing charter contract for a Russian vessel, which was supposed to deliver members of the Polish expedition from Antarctica to Chile. But then it was done by the RV Noosfera.
Poland co-financed our vessel’s mission. Since then, mutually beneficial cooperation, both logistical and scientific, is going on (we’ll cover it in detail in a separate article).
We thank our Polish colleagues for their support during this difficult time for Ukraine and wish them success in completing the station!
We also remind you that the RV Noosfera is currently in its fifth Antarctic season. It began in mid-October of this year and is expected to be the longest one in the history of the vessel under the Ukrainian flag.
Photo: RV Noosfera crew and Deja Kajetan.
