A warm welcome in cold Murmansk

On August 4, a group of our cadets visited the nuclear icebreaker Lenin moored next to the Sedov. The cadets had a guided tour of the bridge, radio room and engine room, the young men were also told about operation principles of the icebreaker. A bit later, the crew of the Lenin honored the barque with a return visit. The cadets of the Sedov took on roles of guides and told the guests about the history and specifications of the sailing ship.

A bus tour of the city was organized for cadets and crew members on their last day in Murmansk. Murmansk has a short but rich history, so there are many places of interest. The city has more than 30 monuments and memorial boards but the most attractive are two memorial complexes: The monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic, commonly called "Alyosha", and a Memorial Complex to the Soldiers and Seafarers Who Died in Peacetime, which consists of a lighthouse and a ship's anchor. There is a fragment of the wheelhouse of the nuclear submarine Kursk near the lighthouse. Sedov's cadets headed by the Academic Operations Officer V. Mikheenko paid the tribute to the memory of the seafarers who died in peacetime and laid a floral wreath.

Throughout Sedov's staying in Murmansk the ship was welcoming visitors. There was a considerable queue to the checkpoint. The Sedov had not come to Murmansk for several years, so the locals could not miss an opportunity to visit the legendary tall ship. 7788 people came to see the vessel within 4 days.

The ship was also visited by Murmansk EMERCOM representatives, deputies of the regional Duma, MARP specialists and the Northern expeditionary squad of rescue operations. The guests could not withhold their admiration from the vessel. The visitors brought memorable gifts and a thematic calendar. A book of particular value was also among the presents. It was released to the 100th anniversary of the city and called " Murmansk at 100!". The day before the departure Governor ad interim of the Murmansk region Andrei Chibis came on board again to hand a thank-you letter to the Master of the vessel.

Despite polar cold weather, the dance group from Murmansk was willing to make a performance on board. For an hour the dancers were waltzing on the deck in the icy wind. Among ship's famous guests there was a movie star Andrey Merzlikin, who made an entry into ship's guest book and wished good luck to our crew and cadets.

The goodbye day was marked with cold weather but a lot of people gathered on the pier to see the ship off and wave a farewell to the cadets lined up on the upper deck in parade uniform. About 11 o'clock in the afternoon the ship's whistle informed the port about vessel's departure, the ship got unmoored and left the port of Murmansk for the home port of Kaliningrad.

Text by Head of Practice A. Savina
Photos by V. Semidyanov