Captain of Nadezhda vessel Vasilenko voted Captain of the Year

Captain of the Russian Nadezhda training sailing vessel Vladimir Vasilenko, under whom the ship made a circumnavigation, was named Captain of the Year. This title was awarded to him by the Far-Eastern Association of Sea Captains.

As president of the Association Pyotr Osichansky, who presented the award, said on Tuesday, Mr. Vasilenko made a detailed report on the global cruise and forthcoming voyages at the anniversary meeting of the Association's presidium held in Vladivostok, a Russian port on the Pacific.

The Association members advised Mr. Vasilenko to publish a documentary book about the sailing ship's recent circumnavigation. It will replenish the Captains series of marine memoirs.

It was Vladivostok that the Nadezhda frigate of the Admiral Nevelskoi Marine State University left for a circumnavigation on January 25, 2003. For 14 months and 3 days the sailing vessel visited 30 ports in 20 countries, having covered about 45,000 nautical miles.

The frigate, having made a complete global cruise, returned to Vladivostok on March 28, 2004. During that time the sailing ship crossed the equator thrice.

The world cruise was dedicated to the bicentenary of the first world cruise of Russian sailors on the Nadezhda and Neva sloops under Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky.

A Russian scientific expedition for studying environmental problems and the World Ocean's processes stayed on board the sailing ship together with the crew and cadets.