On 16 June 2017 the Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Andrey Botsev, accompanied by the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Mitko Petev, paid a visit to Nikola Vaptsarov ANval Academy. The visitors were greeted by the Academy’s Rector – Flotilla Admiral Prof. Boyan Mednikarov, who delivered a presentation about the institution. His briefing covered the mission, objectives and prospects of the Academy and discussed current issues related to military education.

After that, the visitors toured the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Monitoring Centre deployed at the Naval Academy, which processes the information about the condition of seawaters, vessel traffic, hydrometeorological situation, and produces a static picture of the areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the republic of Bulgaria in the Black Sea. On European and regional scale, the Centre is unique in its functionality for oil spill response and oil spill responder assets management, which was the subject of a demonstration.

The Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Andrey Botsev, expressed his high appreciation for the development of the Academy and its attained results.