Pursuing the World’s Rarest DX: Vadym Ivliev, UT6UD, and the Story That Led Him to Bouvet

For some operators, Bouvet Island represents the ultimate technical challenge. For Vadym Ivliev (UT6UD), it is something more personal—and more mysterious.

From his home in Kyiv—far removed from the ice, storms, and isolation of Bouvet—Vadym has long been drawn to the island not only for its legendary radio silence, but for the stories it inspires. Years ago, he published a piece of fiction set in the dark, icy waters off the island’s coast—an eerie tale that captured readers’ imaginations and earned a literary award. Unlike anywhere on the mainland—where human presence, history, and infrastructure are always close at hand—Bouvet exists almost entirely outside the familiar world, untouched and indifferent. Now, as part of the 3Y0K DXpedition, fiction gives way to firsthand experience.

With ice expected on the rigging and a small international team at his side, Vadym heads south carrying both radio gear and a storyteller’s curiosity. For him, Bouvet is not just a rare DX entity—it is a place utterly unlike home or any other station on Earth, where isolation strips everything down to essentials and new stories are waiting to be told.