Odesa icebreaker completes its fourth season, which was more active than the others

The Ukrainian research vessel Noosphere has completed its fourth Antarctic season, which was more active than the previous three, and docked in the port of Cape Town (South Africa) on May 10.

According to the National Antarctic Center, this season the Noosphere team made a record five voyages to the Antarctic.

In total, the vessel sailed more than 20 thousand nautical miles (more than 37 thousand kilometers), which is almost equal to the length of the Earth's equator. Due to the Russian aggression, Noosphere cannot return to its home port of Odesa yet. Therefore, it is currently in the port of temporary deployment in Cape Town.

The program of the fourth season was performed by two 🇺🇦 Ukrainian captains from Odesa region: Pavlo Panasiuk and Andriy Starish. Pavlo Panasiuk has been driving Noosphere since its first Antarctic mission in 2022. For Andriy Starish, it was his first season as captain - he had previously established himself as a senior assistant captain.

In December 2024, the Noosphere arrived at its first destination, the Polish Antarctic station Arttowski on King George Island. In mid-December, Noosphere embarked on its fourth Antarctic season. Like all the previous ones, it was conducted in cooperation with the Polish Antarctic Program. This season was also the most international of all the previous ones. It includes collaborations with the United States and Spain, joint research with the Czech Republic, and the implementation of two EU Horizon Europe projects.

In May 2024, the Ukrainian research vessel Noosphere completed its third Antarctic season and docked in the port of Cape Town (South Africa).

On May 28, 2022, the Ukrainian research vessel Noosphere, which left Odesa a month before the full-scale invasion on January 28, arrived in Cape Town. The scientists then completed the first Antarctic season. Thus, for the first time in 20 years, Ukraine conducted an Antarctic expedition with its own scientific fleet. In April 2022, the Ukrainian research icebreaker Noosphere replaced the Russian vessel with polar explorers at the Polish Antarctic station Arttovsky.

Photo: NANC

Кирило Бойко