The Krusenstern celebrates the 100th anniversary

Today marks the 100th anniversary of launching the most famous sailing ship in the world, the barque Krusenstern.

For 20 years, the world knew the ship as the Padua, and 80 as the Kruzenstern. The sailing ship has long been a legend, wonderfully fusing history and modernity, beauty and utilitarianism, big ideas and their beautiful embodiments.

The former Padua was launched in 1926 at the Teklenborg shipyard in Gestemünde, near Bremerhaven. Between 1926 and 1941, the sailing ship undertook seventeen voyages, fifteen of which were transoceanic—to Chilean ports in South America and to Australia. In January 1946, the Soviet naval flag was hoisted on the Padua, and in February the ship was renamed the Kruzenstern in honour of Admiral I.F. Kruzenstern.

Despite her age, the Kruzenstern has been serving as a Sailing School for many years. Her history is a series of successes and creative breakthroughs: victories in regattas, two circumnavigations of the globe, and transatlantic crossings. In 2015, the Kruzenstern, with cadets on board, undertook a historical and commemorative expedition; in 2019–2020, the ship completed a transatlantic crossing as part of the Sails of the World project. In the South Atlantic, during the symbolic 200-mile commemorative regatta marking the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica, the Kruzenstern snatched victory from the Sedov and the Pallada. In 2024–2025, the barque Kruzenstern participated in the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries’ Great African Expedition, during which she visited the ports of Agadir and Casablanca (Kingdom of Morocco), Cape Town (South Africa) and Port Louis (Republic of Mauritius).

We congratulate the crew and cadets of this renowned barque on her 100th anniversary and wish her long years ahead at sea! Seven feet under the keel and fair winds!