Port of Varna EAD concluded Agreement No. ESF-2303-03-02002, Grant No. BG051PO001-2.3.03 “Safe Labour”, under the Project No. BG051PO001-2.3.03-0479-C0001 “Improved working conditions at Port of Varna EAD”.

More information about the project

On 18 May 2011, Port of Varna celebrated its 105th anniversary and organized an exhibition on the occasion of the Europe’s Day of the Sea.

Port of Varna celebrated its 105th anniversary (18 May) and Europe’s Day of the Sea (19 May) with an exhibition of marine photos.  The exhibition’s title was “More.to”, and it included 40 pictures of 19 authors from the Photographic Society of Varna.  It will be opened on Friday (20 May) at 7 p.m. in Varna Towers Mall on the 3rd floor.

Every photographer shares his/her own experience with the sea: the beauty of the sunset, the daily work of the fishermen, the lovely seascapes at home and overseas and even subaqueous photos. 

On the Europe’s Day of the Sea, the maritime communities of EU member states declare their maritime identity and promote the maritime industry.  This year, the host of official celebration is Gdansk, Poland. 

According to different sources, during the four days of the race (21-24 May), the sail ships were visited by more than 250 thousand people.  The excellent organization allowed for parking of over 3000 cars per day in the area of Port of Varna.

The port got really crowded on 24 May, when Bulgaria celebrates the Day of Slavonic Script and Bulgarian Culture.  After the festivities in the city, everyone rushed towards the port or the beach to see the departure of the ships and the most attractive part – the Parade of Sails.

Totally 22 ships from 16 countries made the year’s most important maritime event in Bulgaria.  All ships and crews made a magnificent show for Bulgarian public which can only be offered by the greatest charity sail training organization in the world – Tall Ships International.  Unforgettable will be also the parade of crews on the streets of Varna, with the unique spectacle of Indonesian crew of the ship “Devaruchi”, the Arabian sailors of “Shabab Oman”, who proved to be skillful bagpipe players, the giant 108-meter sailing ships of Russia and Poland, the British vessel “Tenacious” made by disabled people and her crew marching in their wheelchairs, the enthusiastic Moldavian sailors... 

The mission of the regatta was accomplished in Varna – it showed a mixture of cultures, crews and people with a call for peace carried on the sails.  It has to be remembered however that Varna was chosen for a host city because of Bulgarian bark “Kaliakra” which has participated in this race ever since 1986.  With young skillful crew and excellent captain, “Kaliakra” was a praiseworthy competitor and pride of our country.

In conclusion, this proved to be a successful event.  A long cherished dream of Bulgarian maritime community came true – the legendary Tall Ships Regatta (former Cutty Sark) arrived to our Black Sea coast, despite the difficulties, problems and lack of understanding.  It made the appraisal of the organizers and ship’s captains ever more pleasing, that Varna distinguished itself as the best host port of the race.

143 youths from the 123rd batch of graduates from the Higher Naval School “N. Y. Vaptsarov” received their diplomas at official ceremony in the Festival & Congress Center of Varna.  Amongst them were the 16 students of the new specialty, i.e. Technology and Management of Fleets and Ports.  The managers of Port of Varna EAD presented the 9 top students with souvenirs (briefcases and watches) and books about the history of the port.  The best performing student among the future port specialists is Ms. Desislava Petrova, and she intends seriously to make a professional career in the port.

The top of the class (among both cadets and students) is cadet Miroslav Georgiev with profile Navigation Officer in the Navy.

He was congratulated by the Vice Commander-of-Staff for Education&Training in the Navy, Comodore Rumen Nikolov.  The student with the highest academic result is Mr. Panayot Kabaivanov with profile Navigation Officer.  The first students of the newest specialty “Inland Navigation” graduated as well.  Capt. Danail Nedyalkov who has been a Chairman of the European Danube Commission for many years attended the ceremony especially for their promotion.  The graduates received their certificates from the Chief of the Higher Naval School, Capt. Dimitar Angelov who wished everyone fair navigating in the ocean of the maritime professions.

Together with their certificates, the top students were presented with awards and gifts in cash by local and international maritime companies.