FESCO Transport Group, a subsidiary of Rosatom, has announced the arrival of its diesel-electric ship Vasily Golovnin at India’s Maitri research station in Antarctica. This marks the first stopover of the vessel during the 2025–2026 expedition under a contract with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), India’s leading polar research institution.
The ship delivered essential equipment, food, and fuel supplies, along with scientific personnel, to support ongoing research activities at the station. Due to challenging ice conditions, cargo operations were conducted with the aid of helicopters, which also performed aerial reconnaissance to ensure safe passage and unloading.
Captain of the Vasily Golovnin noted that the journey from Cape Town to Maitri took nearly two weeks. The vessel had to navigate through 1.5-meter-thick consolidated ice, which slowed its progress and forced it to stop approximately 6.5 miles from the station.
The ship is scheduled to remain in the Maitri area for about a week before proceeding to the next destination on its route, with plans to call at Maitri again on the return leg.
FESCO also highlighted that the 2025–2026 expedition program has been expanded. In addition to servicing the Maitri and Bharati stations, the vessel will operate in the Queen Maud Land area, assisting Indian scientists with their research efforts.
This marks FESCO’s eighth expedition supplying Indian Antarctic stations and the fifth under the five-year contract with NCPOR, signed in October 2021.