On December 4, 2021, the flagship of the Ukrainian scientific fleet - icebreaker "Noosphere" left the naval station of Odessa and went to the Black Sea, to the shipyard.

Icebreaker "James Clark Ross" received a new name - "Noosphere". The name was chosen because one of the main tasks of the icebreaker will be to transport scientific personnel to the station "Academician Vernadsky". The station is named after a Ukrainian scientist whose ideas led to the formation of the concept of "noosphere" - so the French philosopher Edouard le Roy, developing the ideas of Vladimir Vernadsky, called the next stage of development of the Earth's biosphere.

Like any vehicle, before the main road (and to Antarctica from Ukraine at least 5-6 weeks), especially before the trip to the icy seas, our ship must undergo serious maintenance.

In full autonomy, he successfully moved from Denmark to Ukraine, bypassing Europe. That is, there are no questions about the ship's properties. But it's one thing to move around Europe, it's another to go to the ice. Tom insists that we do the first service before leaving for Antarctica.

Evgeny Dikiy, director of the National Antarctic Research Center

It is necessary to check up work of all mechanisms - from engines to cranes and winches - on serviceability, to replace the fulfilled oils, etc. A separate task is to clean the hull from the growth of marine vegetation and maintain "rudders" - special propellers that ensure the vessel's maneuverability in difficult ice conditions.

Most of this work cannot be done on the passenger berth of the seaport, and some even require a temporary lift from the water to the dock.

PJSC “ISRZ” (old name - Illichivsk Shipyard) was chosen for docking because “Noosphere” has a significant tonnage - 5732 tons, and for this the floating dock must be pretty powerful. The technical work will be supervised by experienced senior mechanic Andris Kubulins, who worked on the James Clark Ross for more than six years. When it became the Noosphere, he kindly agreed to move from the British Antarctic Service to work for a Ukrainian icebreaker crew.

The Noosphere is expected to leave for Antarctica in mid-January. But we will traditionally announce this separately.