Maiden embarkation of scientists from Indian Ocean Countries onboard Antarctic expedition – Colombo Security Conclave

In a pioneering endeavour under maritime collaboration among the nations of Colombo Security Conclave (CSC), two scientists from Mauritius and one scientist from Bangladesh boarded the vessel at Cape town on 20 Dec 2023 to participate in the 43rd Antarctic expedition of India led by National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa.

The participation of scientists from neighbouring countries in the expedition is an outcome of the maiden CSC Oceanographers and Hydrographers conference held at Goa and Hyderabad in November 2022.

Earlier, the scientists from CSC nations had embarked onboard ‘Sagar Nidhi’ for a month-long scientific expedition in the Indian Ocean Region in June 2023.

The scientists will participate in the Antarctic expedition for a period of 3-4 months during which they will undertake collaborative research in various disciplines pertaining to the polar science and understand the nuances of Polar logistics as well as challenges of Polar environment.