After 83 days and 1,709 hours of navigation, the IV Antarctic Expedition " Almirante Tono" Austral Summer 2017-2018, the ship ARC "20 de Julio" returns to Colombia, with new scientific information on issues of marine, coastal and continental ecosystems, environmental change and conservation, biodiversity of Antarctic organisms, geography, hydrography, cartography and maritime security.
This expedition that went to the white continent on last December 15, 2017, consisted of 30 national and international researchers who traveled to the South Pole to carried out the field phase of their scientific projects, some of them on board the ship ARC "20 de Julio" and others in platforms of countries allied with the Colombian Antarctic Program, such as Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Spain.
The IV Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic 'Almirante Tono', organized by the Colombian Ocean Commission and the Colombian Antarctic Program, on board the ARC 20 de Julio, -made by the Corporation of Science and Technology for the Marine, Naval and Fluvial Industry (Cotecmar) -, counted on the participation of 101 crew members, 30 researchers, 23 institutions, 5 countries allied in international cooperation and it developed 12 research projects on board and 15 projects in international cooperation.
With the experience acquired in the four expeditions, the National Navy plans the construction of a new multipurpose oceanographic ship, which will complement the maritime flotilla and the scientific capabilities of the country, which will not be exclusively for polar missions, but will in the same way useful to carry out capabilities in the tropics, which will led the Naval Institution and the Colombian scientific community to study and develop disciplines such as oceanography, marine biology, hydrography, meteorology, cartography and glaciology among others.
Today the Naval Institution has the capacity, means and human talent to carry out operations in the Antarctic, with the interest to preserve the environment on the planet, in addition to carried out missions of both sea control exercise operations and scientific research tasks, demonstrating once again its great versatility with this type of naval units.
It is important to say that naval diplomacy is a great tool to consolidate cooperation ties with Navies from other countries, and show Colombia as a country interested in the planet for the benefit of humanity.
Source: National Navy.
