| Specifications of Kruzenshtern | |
|---|---|
| Operations: | Sail Training |
| Class: | A |
| Rig: | 4 Masted Barque |
| Home Port: | Kaliningrad, Russia |
| MMSI: | 273243700 |
| Previous Names: | Padua (1926) Kruzenshtern (1946) |
Kruzenshtern is a class A 4 masted barque.
Kruzenshtern, a Sail Training tall ship operated by the Baltic Fishing Fleet State Academy
Launched in Germany (as Padua) in 1926, Kruzenshtern is the only remaining Flying P-Liner ship that continues to sail to this day (3 others remain moored). She was originally a cargo ship capable of transporting around 4000 tons of construction materials, wheat and other products on the Cape Horn trade between Germany, Chile and Australia. By 1941 she had made 17 voyages, rounding Cape Horn 28 times, setting records such as 67 days from Hamburg in Germany to Port Lincoln in Australia and 8 months, 23 days for a return voyage from Hamburg via Chile to Australia.
During the Second World War Padua was kept around the Baltic Sea, initially as a cargo vessel before being converted for a pure Sail Training purpose, though for most of this time she remained moored. In 1946 Padua was handed to the USSR as a war reparation and renamed Kruzenshtern (after Admiral Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern, the leader of the first Russian round the world-voyage from 1803 to 1806) before becoming a part of the Soviet Navy's Baltic fleet.
It took over 15 years for repairs to be completed on the ship before she sailed again, commissioned for five years as a Sail Training ship for the Soviet Navy and as a part of a research fleet for the Soviet Academy of Sciences which explored the Atlantic Ocean. From 1967 onward she changed ownership a number of times before becoming a part of the Baltic Fishing Fleet State Academy in 1991.
Her inaugural circumnavigation was completed between 1995 and 1996, marking the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy, the 225th birthday of I.F. Kruzenshtern and the 190th anniversary of the completion of the first Russian round the world voyage. Since then her itinerary has included many key international events such as the annual Tall Ships Races.
Did You Know? Many navies from across the world use tall ships like Kruzenshtern to expose their cadets to an experience known as 'Sail Training', a course in personal and professional development championed worldwide for its effectiveness in developing key skills in leadership, teamwork and more.
