Horyzont II Heads for Spitsbergen
On the afternoon of Tuesday 4 June 2024, GMU’s training and research vessel Horyzont II left port in Gdynia on its latest expedition to Spitsbergen, Its first time at sea in what is the ship’s 24th season.
The 50 participants in the expedition on board the vessel, made up of the permanent crew, and 2nd-year student cadets from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, together with their tutor and polar researchers from the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, said goodbye to University representatives Director of the Ship Management and Seagoing Service Department Captain Dariusz Jellonek, Msc, and the Head of the Ship Servicing and Seagoing Service Office, Dr Katarzyna Muszyńska at the quay.
Horyzont II, under the command of Captain Ryszard Durlik, departed with its cargo from Cutter Quay in Gdynia from where it will reach the Svalbard Archipelago in a week. The ship will call at the locations of Polish research stations, stopping in Hornsund, Longyearbyen, Kaffioyra and Bellsund, and calling at Hornsund a second time before making its return journey to Gdynia.
The expedition will give the students on board an excellent opportunity to experience their chosen profession in practice. The journey will also no doubt be an extraordinary adventure and a highlight of their student careers so far. Besides practical training, Horyzont II will also deliver fresh supplies of food, fuel, and other materials necessary for the operation of Polish research stations as well as research equipment. The voyage will also see a change of research personnel throughout the Polar stations, with the research staff on board replacing those who have been in the Arctic for the past year.
Horyzont II will return to Gdynia on 24 June 2024.
