Ukrainian icebreaker Noosfera arrives at Poland’s Arctowski Antarctic station

According to Ukrinform, the National Antarctic Scientific Center reported this on Facebook.

The ship’s journey from Cape Town to the island covered 4,294 miles (6,910 km) and took 17 days. Thanks to the experience of Captain Andrii Starysh, the Noosfera managed to avoid storms, and even the Drake Passage — known for its massive waves — was relatively gentle to the Ukrainian crew.

In the coming days, unloading of the Noosfera will continue. This time, the cargo is particularly large, as new facilities are being built at Arctowski, and the construction is now in its final stage.

The icebreaker’s next stop will be Punta Arenas, Chile. There, the members of Ukraine’s seasonal Antarctic expedition will board the vessel. They will travel to the Akademik Vernadsky station to conduct additional research and carry out urgent modernization work.

Ukrainian-Polish logistical cooperation has been ongoing for four years. It began in March 2022, when, following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Polish Antarctic program terminated its contract to charter a Russian vessel out of solidarity with Ukraine. That vessel was supposed to bring Polish expedition members from Antarctica to Chile, but Noosfera carried out the mission instead.

Since then, Poland has co-financed the Ukrainian vessel’s mission, and mutually beneficial logistical and scientific cooperation has continued.

The Noosfera is now in its fifth Antarctic season, which began in mid-October and is expected to be the longest in the vessel’s history under the Ukrainian flag.

As Ukrinform previously reported, on October 17, the flagship of Ukraine’s research fleet departed for Antarctica from Cape Town (South Africa), where it has been based during Russia’s full-scale invasion. This fifth Antarctic season is expected to be a record one in terms of the number of research projects and international collaborations.

Photo: NANC