how did the autor travel to anatctica ?

The narrator boarded a Russian research ship- 'The Akademik Shokalskiy'. He was heading towards Antarctica. It is the coldest, driest and windiest continent in the world. His journey began 13.09 degrees north of the Equator in Madras (Chennai). He had to cross nine time-zones. six check-points, three bodies of water and at least three ecospheres.