On November 20, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated funds for the purchase of scientific ice-class ocean vessel. This will be the beginning of the revival of the ocean scientific fleet of Ukraine.
The government has allocated up to 252 million hryvnias for the purchase of the vessel. It is expected that the agreement on the acquisition of the vessel will be concluded before the end of 2019, and in 2020 it will take its first departure into the ocean under the Ukrainian flag.
“Acquisition of a ship of such a class by Ukraine will allow us to be more independent in our exploration of the oceans. These are new opportunities for our scientists already starting next year. It is also an opportunity to build bolder strategic research plans in Antarctica and the Arctic,” – said the Minister of Education and Science Hanna Novosad.
Nearly two decades have passed since Ukraine’s last independent scientific voyage to the Southern Ocean (2000-2001). According to the NASC director, Evgen Dykyi, to maintain Akademik Vernadsky station Ukraine annually charters foreign vessels, and for a long time did not conduct marine research at all. “Only last year we began to do something on board fishing vessels, which, of course, are not full-fledged “floating laboratories”. Buying our own ship and resuming scientific voyages greatly enhances our scientific capabilities,” says Dykyi. – We will also be able to create logistics consortia with countries that have their own polar stations, but do not have their own fleet. And, by the way, it will be very symbolic for the 25th anniversary of Akademik Vernadsky station to finally come to it on our own ship. ”