Call to Murmansk

Murmansk is the world's largest city beyond the Arctic Circle. It is located on the rocky Eastern coast of Kola Bay of the Barents sea. It is the port of Russia which has a strategically important mission as an industrial and a transport centre.

Our sailing vessels are not frequent callers in Arctic region. No doubt, after a long trip all our crewmen wanted to enjoy some benevolent heat of the sun and get charged with positive energy, but the rain and cold polar summer altered every plan they had made.

The call of the ship to Murmansk turned out to be a big day for the city as Murmansk had been a port of Sedov's registry for long years. A lot of city dwellers were gathering at the Marine Station since early morning, their distant chatting and festal music were the setting for Sedov's arrival. After the mooring it was a high time for a solemn ceremony on board of the training sailing vessel Sedov.

Governor ad interim of Murmansk region Mr A. Chibis boarded the vessel to welcome the crew and the cadets. He was accompanied by officials and representatives of the media. After the speeches had been made, the Master of the ship Mr. Romashkin and the cadet marched to the main stage. The breath-taking music accompaniment for their marching was provided by the brass band of Red Banner Northern Fleet headquarters.

At the opening ceremony A. Chibis emphasized the importance of Sedov's call to Murmansk. He also expressed gratitude to all the colleagues from Rosrybolovstvo in the person of Deputy Minister of agriculture - the Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries Ilya Shestakov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for fisheries Pyotr Savchuk, as well as the Rector of KSTU Vladimir Volkogon.

Vladimir Volkogon congratulated the crew and cadets on their safe arrival to Murmansk. KSTU Rector also noted that the call of the Sedov is a great holiday for local residents and tourists.

Ship's Master E. Romashkin in his turn thanked natives of Murmansk for their hearty welcome. In his speech he stressed very heavily that the cadets from Murmansk had been back on board of the vessel for their sea practice and moreover, they would take part in the coming circumnavigation on board of the Sedov.

For the time of Sedov's staying at the port the shipentine was hosting a number of cultural, leisure, and even official events.

The solemn ceremony was followed by 11 o'clock Board of Trustees meeting at the lounge. The meeting was headed by the governor ad interim of the Murmansk region Mr. Chibis. Then Master E. Romashkin and Rector of KSTU V. Volkogon arranged an excursion for members of the Board of Trustees. The governor made an entry into the ship guest book.

Deputy head of the Federal Agency for fisheries P. Savchuk chaired Northern fishing Council meeting on Board of the Sedov. During the session the representatives of various fishing industry sectors discussed current challenges and set new tasks. The Council was also attended by Rector of KSTU V. Volkogon, Rector of MGTU S. A. Agarkov. Director of North-Western Fishing Company – Murmansk V. Zhuravlev presented the crew of the barque 4 boxes of cod, which is a symbol of the city.

Photos by V. Semidanov
Text by A. Savina