Members of the organizing committee supported the initiative of Ilya Shestakov, a Deputy Minister of agriculture and a Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries. The essence of his initiative was to send the barque from Vladivostok to her home port of Kaliningrad via the Northern Sea Route (NSR). "We scrutinized all the options of voyage resumption, and finally came to the conclusion that the Sedov should complete the expedition by passing the NSR, from East to West. In our opinion, such a voyage will have both a symbolic and practical effect," said Ilya Shestakov in his speech.

The passage of such class of vessels along the NSR is unique and unparalleled in human history. The passage planning included ice navigation risk assessment and it focused on safety of the ship and crew. Ship's hull construction complies with ice class requirements of the Russian Maritime register of shipping. The passage directly along the NSR is scheduled for August-November. The ship is going to navigate in ice-free zones. En-route navigation will be carried out by the administration of the Northern sea route. Supply vessels will be involved, if necessary. In case of heavy ice conditions the ship will call at intermediate ports.

Cadets from educational institutions of Rosrybolovstvo, who are taking their sea practice on the Sedov, will be able to get a unique experience of Far Northern navigation, which will certainly contribute to their professional experience.

The barque Sedov is the biggest training and sailing vessel in the world. Next year, the Sedov will celebrate her centenary. Since the beginning of the round-the-world expedition, Sedov has been at sea for 179 days and sailed 23 thousand nautical miles, she has completed the 1st stage of the expedition on June 3 at the port of Vladivostok. Presumably, on August 18, 2020, the vessel will head for Pevek.

The frigate Pallada departed from Vladivostok on November 1, 2019. Within 216 days she sailed more than 26,000 nautical miles, crossed the Equator twice, passed over the Mariana trench and rounded Cape Horn. On June 3, the ship got moored at the home port of Vladivostok.

The STS Kruzenshtern left the port of Kaliningrad on December 7, 2019, she spent 179 days at sea and sailed 24 thousand nautical miles. Duration of Kruzenstern's expedition was reduced by 100 days due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Calls to more than a dozen of ports were canceled. On June 3, the barque completed the expedition.

Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of agriculture of the Russian Federation, appreciated the results of the round-the-world sailing expedition and singled out Masters and distinguished members of the ships' crews for ministerial awards. The issue of recommending them to state awards is being considered.

Source: United press-service of Federal Agency for Fisheries