24th of July, 2009 The Krusenstern or Kruzenshtern (Russian: Барк «Крузенштерн») is a Russian four masted barque and tall ship that was built in 1926 in Bremerhaven-Wesermünde, Germany, as shipyard number “S408″ under the name Padua (named after the eponymous Italian city). She was given to the USSR in 1946 as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann Krusenstern (1770-1846). The Kruzenshtern is the second largest ship in the Russian fleet.Of the four remaining Flying P-Liners, the Ex-Padua is the only one still in use, mainly for training purposes, with her home ports in Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) and Murmansk. After the Sedov, another former German ship, she is the largest traditional sailing vessel still in operation. Originally, like all P-liners, she was painted according to the colours of the German national flag of the German Empire era, black (hull above water, topsides), white (waterline area) and red (underwater body).The Kruzenshtern led the majestic international procession of tall ships into New York Harbor for Operation Sail on Sunday, July 4, 1976. For more information pls visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruzenshtern_(ship)
