The flag of the Russian Olympic Committee has set out on a round-the-world trip from Vladivostok on the training ship Pallada. The ship will cover a route of more than 27 thousand nautical miles and will visit nine ports in different foreign countries: Apia (Samoa), Papeete (French Polynesia), Valparaiso (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), Cape Town (South Africa), Port Louis (Mauritius), Singapore, Moiré (Brunei) and Nagasaki (Japan). Also raised on board the ship are the Banner of Victory, along with the flags of the Ministry of Emergencies and the Vladivostok Naval Assembly.
The solemn seeing off events of Pallada took place on the 33rd pier of the Ship Embankment of the Pacific Fleet. After a prayer for the crew’s health, Pallada’s captain Nikolai Zorchenko was presented with the icon of the holy righteous warrior Theodore Ushakov. Furthermore, Ivan Shtyl, bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympic Games in kayaking and canoeing, and Oleg Dokuchaev, president of the Primorye Olympic Council, presented the captain with a flag bearing the symbols of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The return of the ship to the port of Vladivostok is expected on June 9, 2020.
In addition to the Pallada, the Sedov and Kruzenshtern barges will also take part in the voyage. They are due to set out from Kaliningrad in early December. All the ships belong to the Federal Agency for Fishery, which organized the expedition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen, as well as the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.
– All three sailboats will meet in the south of the Atlantic, – Vladimir Volkogon, Rector of Kaliningrad State Technical University, was quoted as saying by TASS. – They will be joined by both Russian and foreign yachts, including the Atlantida research ship due to be in the area. Their joint maneuvering will be the centerpiece of the entire expedition, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica.
During the expedition, Pallada and Sedov will make round-the-world voyages, while Kruzenshtern will conduct a transatlantic voyage. As for Pallada, this will be the ship’s third round-the-world voyage.
