site.btaDay 110: RSV 421 Starts Post-voyage Maintenance  

On 15 April, the Bulgarian naval research/survey vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii's (NAVAL RSV 421) engineers began post-voyage maintenance and servicing of the technical equipment while the vessel was docked at the naval base in the Spanish city of Cartagena. Engine oil analysis was carried out on RSV 421's three diesel generators, the ship's Chief Engineer Officer, Lieutenant Commander Stoil Popov, told BTA. 

The post-voyage maintenance and servicing of all the mechanisms in RSV 421's engine room will be carried out over a few hours daily until April 19, while the ship is in the port of Cartagena.

In the meantime, members of the deck crew washed the ship's side, structures, decks and inter-deck spaces with fresh water after the long Atlantic crossing.

Cartagena is RSV 421’s intermediary stop on its way back home to the port city of Varna, on the Black Sea. The ship successfully participated for the first time in the 31st Bulgarian Antarctic expedition on Livingston Island. On April 18, it will be boarded  by a new group of 24 cadets from the N. Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna, who, like their 23 colleagues at the beginning of the trip, will conduct a 10-day sailing practice. After Cartagena, RSV 421 will stop in Piraeus, Greece, to discuss the mutual cooperation between the naval academies of the two countries. The ship is expected to complete its full voyage in early May, docking at Varna Naval Station.

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.