site.btaVarna Naval Academy Delegation Visits Uruguay Naval Academy

A Bulgarian delegation of Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Varna (NVNA) visited the Uruguay Naval Academy, NVNA said on Wednesday. The visit took place on Monday and included Ambassador of Bulgaria to Argentina and Uruguay Stoyan Mihaylov and NVNA representatives.

Bulgaria was also represented by Captain (Navy) Miroslav Tsvetkov, Deputy Chief of Educational and Scientific Activities at NVNA, Flotilla Admiral (ret.) Boyan Mednikarov, and Bulgaria’s honorary consul in Uruguay Igor Svetogorski, NVNA said.

The Bulgarian visitors were welcomed by Captain (Navy) Gerardo Estellano, director of the Uruguay Naval Academy. Estellano presented the academy’s training system.

NVNA said it found major similarities with training in Varna, as both institutions prepare not only cadets for the Bulgarian Navy but also specialists for civilian shipping. Unlike their Bulgarian counterparts, however, the Uruguayan academy also trains high school students, NVNA said.

Estellano also demonstrated the academy’s navigation simulation systems.

The two institutions saw potential cooperation in naval education, including teaching specialized English, cybersecurity and the use of space systems for Earth observation, NVNA said. The Uruguay Naval Academy’s leadership also showed interest in visiting NVNA to discuss specific steps for bilateral cooperation.

The visit also focused on training specialists for civilian shipping, which the Uruguayan leadership described as a priority. NVNA representatives said they were ready to help improve teaching quality, both through curriculum content and by exchanging academic staff. The Uruguayan partners also asked for Bulgarian support in preparing their application for membership in the World Association of Maritime Universities. NVNA also invited the Uruguay Naval Academy to nominate participants for courses run by EnduroSat in space engineering.

The sides also discussed a possible visit by the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) to Montevideo during the Antarctic summer of 2026/2027.

The Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) sailed from Varna for Antarctica on November 7, 2025. It reached the coast of Livingston Island, near St. Kliment Ohridski Base, on December 26, 2025.

A fourth group from the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition left Vasil Levski Airport, Sofia on January 24. The group includes Expedition Leader Christo Pimpirev, Associate Professor Stoyan Georgiev of the Geological Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Chief Assistant Professor Snezhana Rusinova-Videva of the Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Kiril Kandilarov, writer Vasil Popov, BTA special correspondent Simona-Alex Mihaleva and journalist Zhivko Konstantinov.

In Punta Arenas, the group will be joined by Chief Assistant Prof. Gergana Georgieva of the Faculty of Physics at Sofia University, Prof. Emil Stanev from Germany, as well as Greek scientists Dionysia Rigatou of the University of Athens and Eleni Kytinou of the Institute of Oceanography at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. Journalists Maria Cherneva and Anna Andreeva from Bulgarian National Television are also expected to join the group.

The two groups are expected to reunite on King George Island in Antarctica, from where they will continue aboard the Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) to Bulgaria’s St Kliment Ohridski Base on Livingston Island.

Following the opening of the Bulgarian Antarctic base on Livingston Island in mid-November, the main fieldwork of the 34th expedition began. In the area of South Bay on Livingston Island, an international team of scientists, assisted by the expedition’s logistics team, is collecting samples for several research projects.