Russia And A New Environmentally Friendly Way To Protect Ship Hulls From Algae Fouling Discovered By Russian Scientists

Russia and a new environmentally friendly way to protect ship hulls from algae fouling discovered by Russian scientists

In this digest, we will tell you about the most popular vacation destination for Russians in April, who is considered the most popular poet in Russia and a new environmentally friendly way to protect ship hulls from algae fouling discovered by Russian scientists

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) In this digest, we will tell you about the most popular vacation destination for Russians in April, who is considered the most popular poet in Russia and a new environmentally friendly way to protect ship hulls from algae fouling discovered by Russian scientists.

Sochi turns out to be the most popular vacation destination among Russians in mid-spring, while Istanbul tops the to-go list among foreign destinations, according to a fresh survey conducted by travel website OneTwoTrip.

"For April, travelers most often look for flights to Sochi: 22.5% of Russians would like to go to the sea ... Moscow ranks second with 13.8%," the study said, adding that St. Petersburg ranks third with 13.2%.

The list of Russian cities of interest among travelers includes Kaliningrad (8.5%), Mineralnye Vody (6.8%), Makhachkala (3.9%), Kazan (3.4%), Vladikavkaz (1, 9%), Yekaterinburg (1.7%) and Novosibirsk (1.4%).

As for foreign destinations, travelers are interested in those cities where it will already be warm and even hot in AprilTbilisi, Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Belgrade, Colombo, Almaty, Male, Denpasar, Astana and Seoul. Istanbul is the absolute leader, amounting to 13% of air tickets bought for April.

TOP MOST POPULAR POETS IN RUSSIA

Alexander Pushkin tops the list of the most popular Russian-speaking poets among users of Russian e-book service LitRes, followed by Sergei Yesenin and Mikhail Lermontov, the company's press service said on Tuesday.

LitRes has compiled a ranking of the most popular Russian-speaking poets and their works among the audience of the service on the occasion of World poetry Day, which is celebrated annually on March 21.

"As expected, Alexander Pushkin ranks first. His most popular work in terms of downloads between February 2022 and February 2023 is the novel in verse 'Eugene Onegin,' a recognized masterpiece of Russian literature," the company said in a statement.

The top three also included Sergei Yesenin with the most popular poem "A Letter to the Woman" and Mikhail Lermontov with his poem "Mtsyri" ("The Novice").

Among other popular poets were Nikolay Nekrasov, Aleksandr Blok, Eduard Asadov, Marina Tsvetaeva, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Ivan Krylov and Vera Polozkova.

World Poetry Day was established by UNESCO in November 1999 and has since been celebrated annually on March 21 throughout the world. The purpose of establishing the holiday is to promote linguistic diversity through poetic expression, as well as to "enable endangered languages to be heard."

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PROTECTION

Russian scientists from Far Eastern research institutes have found an environmentally friendly way to protect ship hulls from harmful fouling with microorganisms and algae, using substances secreted by bacteria, the Russian Science and Higher education Ministry told Sputnik.

Biological fouling in the marine environment � the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae or even small animals on the hulls of ships � is a huge problem leading to considerable economic losses. It enhances the corrosion processes of structural materials and leads to early decommissioning of various equipment. On ships, fouling increases friction between the ship's hull and water, which results in an increase in fuel consumption (up to 40-50% ), as well as a decrease in maneuverability.

The most common way to protect the ship's surface in sea water from biofouling is to use anti-fouling coatings with so-called biocides, represented mainly by copper compounds. The intensive use of coatings containing copper biocides and a significant increase in their amount has led to the fact that, according to experts, more than 5 tonnes of heavy metal compounds are released into the water annually.

Far Eastern research institutes' specialists joint efforts in an attempt to create an anti-fouling coating using products of microbial biosynthesis.

A strain of one of the species of marine bacteria isolated by scientists showed high antimicrobial and antifouling activity. Biological substances produced by this strain have been used as a natural biocide for the development of antifouling.

The main biocidal component of the new coating is an encapsulated bacterial extract that is effective against microbes and algae.

Experiments carried out in natural marine conditions have shown that the developed coating effectively copes with biofouling. These experiments took place at the basis of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center, a scientific research organization in Vietnam, in the South China Sea.