site.btaDay 96: RSV 421 Crosses Equator into Northern Hemisphere

At 00:43 am ship's time (01:43 am Eastern European time) on April 2, the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) crossed the equator. RSV 421 entered the northern hemisphere at 28° 50. 769' longitude, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on its way back to Varna after its successful participation in the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.

The ship is moving at 11 knots in good weather conditions - light headwinds of 1-2 metres per second and sea waves of 3 degrees Douglas. RSV 421 is heading to the next intermediate stop on her route - the Spanish city of Cartagena, where she should arrive by the middle of April. There, a group of 24 cadets from the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA) will board the vessel to conduct a 10-day sailing practice. After sailing off the Spanish city, the ship will stop in Piraeus, Greece where the mutual cooperation of NVNA and the Greek Naval Academy will be discussed. The vessel is expected to reach home at the end of April.

The owner of the vessel is the consortium "Bulgarian Antarctic Base St. Kliment Ohridski and scientific research ship", whose members are the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Sofia University and the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute.

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.