Russian Sailing Vessel Nadezhda Arrives in Gdansk, Poland

The Russian training sailing frigate, the Nadezhda, making a circumnavigation, has arrived in the Polish port of Gdansk. The ship will stay in the port till May 12th, the Admiral Nevelsky Vladivostok Naval University informed RIA Novosti on Tuesday. The University is the owner of the ship.

The ship's next port of call will be St. Petersburg, where the frigate will participate in the celebration of the city's 300th anniversary and in the international regatta.

The crew will be changed in St. Petersburg and second-year marine engineers instead of future navigators will continue the circumnavigation.

After the celebration in St. Petersburg the Nadezhda is due to continue the circumnavigation. London will be the next port of call.

The vessel has been at sea for over three months. It left Vladivostok on January 25th. In three months the ship has crossed 10 seas, the Pacific and Indian oceans and visited 8 foreign ports.

The cruise is devoted to the 200th anniversary of the first circumnavigation made by the sailing ships the Nadezhda and the Neva and headed by great Russian navigators Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky.

The current circumnavigation closely repeats the route, taken by the ships of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky two centuries ago.

Over 60 third-year university students have been successfully combining their practice and studies. Apart from the daily duties at the vessel they have classes in nine subjects every day.

There is also an expedition of Russian scientists on board the ship, conducting researches of the World Ocean and atmosphere. The researches are envisaged by the programme of the circumnavigation.

The circumnavigation is due to last for over a year. Its participants will visit over 20 ports all over the world.