The barques Kruzenshtern and Sedov will have been ready for the circumnavigation by the end of November

The training sailing vessel will be examined and repaired at Svetlyy Shipyard to get prepared for Russian Maritime Register inspection. 

According to the Head of the navigation and practical training of the Baltic State Academy of Fishing Fleet Mikhail Novikov there are going to be 2 stages of preparation. The first phase includes checking of the fresh water tanks, partial renovation of accommodation and upgrading of air conditioning system. Two new desalination plants will be installed on the Kruzenshtern to get ready for long passages in the Atlantic. Mr Novikov says that current maintenance is a part of annual routine, and there is not going to be any major refitting.

Maintenance of the main and auxiliary engines will be carried out in the engine room. It is a mandatory procedure before Class Register inspection. Similar works will be carried out on board of the barque Sedov and the frigate Pallada, which will also join the circumnavigation in honor of the feat of Russian seafarers.

The second phase of work is to begin in mid-October. Crew spaces preparation, minor repairs of ship systems, maintenance of gears and mechanisms are going to be carried out.

"We hope that by November 26 the repair work will have been completed, so, both sailing vessels will proceed to the Kaliningrad Seaport to start round- the-world expedition," added Mr. Novikov.

The circumnavigation of the Russian sailing ships the Kruzenshtern, the Sedov and the Pallada is taking place two centuries after the famous expedition of Russian seafarers headed by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on the sloops Vostok and Mirny. The famous Russian pioneers sailed around the unknown ice continent at latitudes from 60° to 70° despite severe navigational conditions. The crew irrefutably proved the existence of the land at the South pole.

In the period from November 2019 to December 2020, the world-famous training sailing ships-the barque Sedov and the frigate Pallada will carry out circumnavigations and the barque Kruzenshtern will take up a transatlantic passage. The ships will act as the sites of sea practice for 692 Rosrybolovstvo's cadets of and 56 shipboys.

The sailing of Russian vessels will also be timed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The vessels will call at more than 40 ports of North and South America, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Each call will be marked with cultural and educational events. 
 
During the voyage the three ships will have to sail about 100 thousand nautical miles. The voyage will be finished at the end of 2020.

Photo: by Media Center of circumnavigation and Denis Shtein