Captain of Odesa icebreaker sets up a signpost to Cilicia in Antarctica

Andriy Starish, captain of the Odesa-based icebreaker ship Noosphere, which recently arrived at Vernadsky Station, installed a Kilia sign on Galindez Island in the Antarctic.

This was reported by the administrator of the Kilia .ua group Tetiana Havrylenko, who noted that Andrii Starish is a native of Kilia.

"Background. I wrote to Andriy about this idea, and it turned out that we had this dream in common. Then I just kept my fingers crossed and mentally prayed to God that everything would work out. Meanwhile, Andriy and his team were making the sign. As he wrote, a lot depended on the weather - and, thank God, it did not disappoint," she wrote.

Boatswain Viktor Zhukovsky and first-class seaman Denys Tochansky helped to create the plaque.

The Noosphere icebreaker arrived at the Akademik Vernadsky station recently. The vessel delivered the team of the Ukrainian seasonal expedition, as well as participants of the First Mexican Antarctic Expedition.

The flagship of the Ukrainian scientific fleet, the icebreaker Noosphere, which was relocated from Odesa to Cape Town on the eve of Russia's invasion, started its fifth Antarctic season in October. The ship's Antarctic season this year, which, according to the National Antarctic Science Center (NASC), is longer than the previous ones, was made possible by international contracts, not by the state budget. All joint research is also funded by foreign partners.

In addition, cooperation with the Antarctic programs of other countries has expanded: for the first time, the icebreaker will provide rotation of polar explorers and deliver cargo to the British Antarctic station Rosera (located 300 kilometers south of Vernadsky, above the Arctic Circle). Joint oceanographic and biological research is also planned as part of the First Mexican Antarctic Expedition, which is being organized in cooperation with Ukraine. Joint oceanographic studies of the mechanisms of warming of the Southern Ocean with Colombian scientists are starting.

In addition, earlier collaborations with Poland, the United States, and the Czech Republic will continue. Traditionally, Noosphere will also deliver a seasonal expedition of technicians and scientists to Vernadsky, and subsequently provide a rotation of annual expeditions.

Кирило Бойко