site.btaBulgarian Antarctic Team Begins Sample Collection around Livingston Island

The Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) plans a voyage around Livingston Island on Monday and Tuesday to collect scientific samples from several locations, the vessel’s Commanding Officer Radko Muevski told BTA on Monday. 

The vessel will sail to Hannah Point on Livingston Island, where scientists Snezhana Rusinova-Videva of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology and Vesna Macic will take samples for microbiology and microplastics projects. The ship will then proceed to the nearby Elephant Peninsula for further field sampling.

By the end of the day, RSV 421 is expected to sail to Half Moon (Media Luna) Island, located between Livingston and Greenwich Islands.

On Tuesday, field research is planned on the Half Moon Island, along with a visit to the Argentine base Camara, followed by a voyage to Deception Island. There, physicist Oleg Vasilev is preparing to map the terrain using a drone, capturing the surface or objects for cartographic purposes. The programme also includes a visit to the Spanish base Gabriel de Castilla.

At the Bulgarian Antarctic Base St. Kliment Ohridski, the day will be dedicated to preparing equipment and gear for newly arrived scientists and for fieldwork under suitable conditions. Activities are also underway to begin the construction of a photovoltaic park at the base, aimed at increasing the use of solar energy. Construction work at the base continues as well.

RSV 421 departed for Antarctica from Varna (on the Black Sea) on November 7. After a month-long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the ship arrived at the Argentine naval base in the city of Mar del Plata on December 13, 2025. BTA has had a national press club on board since 2022 and another on Livingston Island since February 2024.

The news pieces of the BTA special correspondents on RSV 421 and Antarctica are freely available in Bulgarian and English on the agency's website. They can be used free of charge by all media with reference to BTA.