EU Research Ship Arrives in Georgia to Study Black Sea Environment

BATUMI, Georgia – The biggest research vessel in the European Union, the Mare Nigrum, on Friday arrived in Georgia’s Black Sea port Batumi to complete a joint Georgian-Ukrainian environmental research project of the Black Sea.

This is the first research of its kind since the 1990s and the only such investigation to study deep-water life in the ‪Black Sea.

A team of researchers from Georgia, Ukraine and five EU member states were welcomed by representatives of Georgian and local officials from the Ajaria region and the media.

The surveys are the first in the territorial waters of Georgia and Ukraine. They will study emerging organic pollutants and catalogue the sea’s dolphin population as well as analyze marine microbes and life in hydrogen sulphide layers.

The surveys will contribute to the implementation of EU-Georgia Association Agreement as the address the environmental needs of the Black Sea coastal zones.

Black Sea research projects are part of an initiative of the European Union and UNDP, carried out in cooperation with government agencies and research institutions in Georgia and Ukraine.

By Tamar Svanidze
Edited by Nicholas Waller

Photo: NEA