site.btaBTA to Once Again Have Correspondent on Board RSV 421 Research Vessel during 4th Voyage to Antarctica
The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) will once again have a correspondent on board Bulgaria's military research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), Director General Kiril Valchev said on Friday ahead of the ship’s fourth voyage to Antarctica. Valchev explained that BTA's correspondent will be on board the ship during January–February, 2026.
He recalled that BTA has a National Press Club on board RSV 421. In February last year, Bulgaria’s national news agency also opened a National Press Club at the St. Kliment Ohridski Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island.
The press clubs exist thanks to the generous support of the Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii and the St. Kliment Ohridski base, which have provided premises. These add to BTA’s 41 other National Press Clubs – 33 in Bulgaria, seven abroad (in neighboring countries and nations with large Bulgarian communities), and one mobile National Book Press Club.
He added that during all three previous expeditions of the Bulgarian research vessel to and from Antarctica, BTA has sent correspondents.
Konstantin Karagyozov was the correspondent during the historic first voyage of RSV 421 at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. He wired daily reports over the course of the 127-day expedition, providing text, video, and photo materials covering the scientific research throughout the journey — including the Atlantic crossing in both directions and the entire stay on the Ice Continent, Valchev noted.
Emil Granicharov served as BTA’s correspondent during RSV 421's second voyage in early 2024. He produced a video ship log, and his materials were made available to all media outlets. They were used not only in Bulgaria but also internationally — with Argentinian media publishing detailed reports based on BTA’s coverage, Valchev pointed out.
Milena Ostrovska was BTA's correspondent during the third voyage of the vessel in early 2025.
Their reports are freely accessible in BTA’s special thematic section #Bulgaria – Antarctica (in Bulgarian and English) and can be used freely by all media with attribution to BTA, Valchev added. According to him, thanks to its correspondents on three consecutive Antarctic expeditions, BTA appears among the top search results on Google for the term Antarctica correspondent.
In June 2023, BTA published a special bilingual issue of its LIK magazine, titled "To Antarctica and Back under the Bulgarian Flag", dedicated to the historic expedition. Valchev also noted that in May 2024, BTA released another LIK issue focused on Bulgarian science in Antarctica, freely available online and translated into English and Spanish.
Copies of both magazine issues are kept on board the ship.
“Thus, Bulgaria’s national news agency contributes to the presentation of Bulgarian science in Antarctica and fulfills its mission to promote Bulgaria by showcasing one of its most beautiful faces — that of Bulgarian science,” Valchev concluded
/RY/
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