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Russia’s legendary barque Kruzenshtern calls at Belgian port

Russia’s legendary windjammer Kruzenshtern, which is on its first training voyage of the year, has called at the Belgian port of Oostende to take part in an international festival of sailing vessels

© Sergei Konkov/TASS

KALININGRAD, May 25. /TASS/. Russia’s legendary windjammer Kruzenshtern, which is on its first training voyage of the year, on Thursday called at the Belgian port of Oostende to take part in an international festival of sailing vessels, Irina Obraztsova, spokesperson for the Baltic State Academy of the Fishing Fleet, the owner of the ship, said.

Kruzenshtern takes part in the festival Ostend at Anchor that is traditionally held in the biggest Belgian city on the North Sea, she said, adding that at the invitation of the organizers of the large-scale sea festival, the windjammer will stay in Oostende until May 28.

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The crew and cadets on board will take part in different events of the festival. Local residents and visitors will be invited on board to tour the legendary ship that last year celebrated her 90th birthday, as well as to attend the exhibitions featuring glorious pages of Kruzenshtern's history.

From Oostende, the Russian barque will head for homeport Kaliningrad, where she is expected on June 4. On June 14, the sailing vessel will set off on a second for this year cruise, taking on board new cadets who will also train on board.

Taking part in the vessel’s first voyage for this year that started on April 25, are 120 cadets from different Russian cities.

She has already visited Poland’s Swinoujsce and Germany’s Hamburg, where she took part in one of Europe’s biggest naval festivals dedicated to the city port’s birthday.

The Kruzenshtern, a four-masted barque, was built in 1926 at Geestemnde in Bremerhaven, Germany and was given the Italian name of the Padua (after the Italian city). She was surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1946 as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann Krusenstern (1770-1846). She is now a Russian Navy sail training ship.

Of the four remaining Flying P-Liners, the former Padua is the only one still in use, mainly for training purposes, with her homeports in Kaliningrad (formerly Koenigsberg) and Murmansk. After the Sedov, another former German ship, she is the largest traditional sailing vessel still in operation. Over its 90-year history, along with participating and winning various international regattas and races, the Kruzenshtern has made two round-the-globe voyages and a trans-Atlantic expedition, covering an overall distance of 1.3 million nautical miles.

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