The Noosfera icebreaker, the flagship of the Ukrainian scientific research fleet, has completed its second Antarctic season. The icebreaker arrived in Cape Town (South Africa) from Antarctica on 29 April.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
The icebreaker delivered three expeditions: the overwintering team of the 27th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition from the Vernadsky Research Base (the Ukrainian Antarctic station), a life support team, and members of the Polish Antarctic expedition from the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station.
The Noosfera icebreaker’s second Antarctic season lasted four months and consisted of two parts.
The icebreaker departed from Cape Town in December 2022, delivering a team of polar explorers to the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station and a team of Ukrainian technical specialists to the Vernadsky Research Base. It also delivered cargo to both the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station and the Vernadsky Research Base. The Noosfera later left Antarctica for Punta Arenas (Chile).
The icebreaker again departed for the Antarctic at the end of March, with members of the 28th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition on board. Having facilitated the annual rotation of expeditions at the station and delivered Polish polar explorers to the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station, the icebreaker left for Cape Town.
The ship crossed the stormiest place on the planet - the Drake Strait - four times during the season.
According to the statement, the Noosfera will most likely remain in Cape Town until the next Antarctic season. The ship is not scheduled to return to Ukraine before the end of the war.
