FSUE “Rosmorport”, the Roscongress Foundation and the Association for the Revival of Maritime Training Sailing Ship Traditions signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Transport Week 2021 Forum to work together on a SAILING THE GLOBE project of circumnavigation of the Mir training sailing boat in 2022-2023.

The trilateral agreement is aimed at establishing partnerships and joint participation in the development and implementation of a large-scale set of activities during the circumnavigation. The parties of the agreement are assumed to unite their efforts to organize an expedition at high level, to increase the project awareness among a wide range of people in the country and abroad.

The circumnavigation of the “Mir” sailing boat is dedicated to the 78th anniversary of Victory in World War II, the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the birth of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great and is also part of preparations for the celebration of the World Maritime Day in Russia.

“The "Mir" is a unique sailing boat, it has won sailing competitions several times and has been recognized as the fastest frigate in the world. It has recorded the maximum sailing speed of 21 knots, or 38.9 km/h. However, this is the first time that it will travel around the world. We are confident that the voyage will be successful, safe and will be organized at a high level. The boat's route is being worked out at present. The “Mir” is supposed to visit the largest Russian seaports and ports in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, Western and Northern Europe,” Deputy General Director for Fleet of FSUE “Rosmorport” Vasily Strugov said.

“The "Mir" sailing boat is the world's fastest sailing vessel of its class. It is operated by FSUE “Rosmorport”, and it has been successfully fulfilling tasks concerning the training of cadets for many years. The organizing committee for the circumnavigation is headed by Minister of Transport Vitaly Gennadyevich Savelyev. For the Roscongress Foundation, this is an educational project with a global reach. Together with our partners, we will do our best to make sure that all and everyone is aware of how the voyage is going,” the Roscongress Foundation Deputy Director and the Eastern Economic Forum Director Igor Pavlov said.

The SAILING THE GLOBE expedition will start from the historic Lesnaya Harbor of Kronshtadt in June 2022 during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and the sailing boat will return to St. Petersburg exactly one year later, in June 2023. During the year, the boat will pass the Northern Sea Route, cross the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and, by estimate, will cover about 37 thousand nautical miles (68.5 thousand km) which overpasses the equator length by more than one and a half times. Cadets from leading Russian maritime universities, guests of the expedition, media representatives and travelers from different countries will be aboard.

The “Mir” training sailing boat was built in 1987 and has been serving as a base for sailing practice for students of the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping for 34 years by now. The sailing boat has taken part in the largest international regattas and sailing festivals a number of times. FSUE “Rosmorport” has been operating the vessel since 2014.