site.btaDay 91: RSV 421 Sails over High Point on Atlantic Floor

On the evening of March 27, the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) sailed over an elevated area of the Atlantic Ocean floor called Minerva, situated close to the Brazilian coast. It rises 45 m below sea level in a region where other Atlantic depths range from 1,000 m to 4,000 m.

RSV 421 maintains a fine speed of about 10 knots, with a headwind blowing at 6 m/s. The ocean waves are about one metre high. The ship is on a bearing of 25 degrees (north-northeast).

RSV 421 is sailing towards its next stop, the Spanish port of Cartagena, where it is scheduled to arrive in the middle of April. There, it will take on board a group of 24 students of Bulgaria's Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, who, like an earlier 23-member group at the beginning of the ship's voyage, will have 10 days of sailing practice. After Cartagena, RSV 421 will stop over at Piraeus, Greece, where talks are planned on cooperation between the naval academies of Bulgaria and Greece. The vessel is expected to finish its voyage by docking at Varna in late April.

BTA's Daily News editor Konstantin Karagyozov is the only member of the media who is travelling on board the ship to Livingston Island and back and covered the Bulgarian expedition on site throughout its stay in Antarctica.

All media outlets can use the Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log for free.