The "Hesperides" leaving the Arsenal of Cartagena

The Oceanographic Research Ship (BIO) 'Hesperides' has left the Cartagena Arsenal for Antarctica, where the XXX Spanish Antarctic Campaign will take place. The farewell event, which was held at the pier Juan de Borbón, was chaired by the Admiral of Maritime Action, Vice Admiral Manuel de la Puente Mora-Figueroa, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela Olmo, and the Secretary General for Science and Innovation, Juan Vázquez, among other civil and military authorities. The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness allocates EUR 7 million to finance 13 of the 17 research projects to be carried out during the campaign and to cover the costs of the ships' Hesperides' and 'Sarmiento de Gamboa' and the Spanish Antarctic bases (BAE) 'Gabriel de Castilla' and 'Juan Carlos I'.
This new campaign will be made possible by 220 people. Up to 70 researchers from universities and research centres will develop 17 research projects, including the collection of data from historical series that, among others, monitor climate change. A total of 13 projects are funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness - through the State Research Agency - while the rest come from scientific institutions funded by the EU, Portugal, Colombia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The 2016 / 2017 campaign has been presented at the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Cartagena and have participated the Secretary of State of R & D & i, Carmen Vela, the Admiral of Maritime Action, Manuel de la Puente Mora-Figueroa and representatives of the Earth Army and the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC). The event has served to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Madrid Protocol, which was signed by the 37 countries that signed the Antarctic Treaty to increase the protection of the Antarctic environment and of dependent and associated ecosystems and designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, dedicated to peace and science.The 'Hesperides' will arrive on January 16 and return to Cartagena on May 24, 2017. The ship will move the different groups to the southern areas, support the bases and be the platform from which several scientific projects are developed in the waters of Antarctica and the South Atlantic. It is the only Spanish oceanographic ship designed to carry out multidisciplinary scientific research in all the seas and oceans of the planet. It has a strength of 60 men and women, under the command of the frigate captain Aurelio Fernández Dapena, and has the capacity to house up to 37 scientists and technicians. The Antarctic Campaign is a model of cooperation between different public and private institutions serving R & D & I within the framework of the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation. The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness - through the State Research Agency - funds the projects and collaborates with the campaign costs that are carried out both on the Antarctic bases and on board the ship 'Hesperides', also participating in the financing of Spanish projects in other polar research bases. In addition, through the Polar Committee, it coordinates the activities carried out by the various agencies during the campaigns.