The ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, training ship of the Navy of the Kingdom of Spain, arrived this Thursday morning at the port of Havanaon his thirteenth visit to Cuba.
The Spanish ship followed the tradition, and at the entrance to the capital’s bay it fired 21 salvos as a salute to the city, which were answered by a battery from the fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, made up of cadets from the Island, according to a report from the agency Latin Press (PL).
????? #Havana receives a visit from the ⛵⚓School ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano.
We share the images of its entry into the mouth of the bay of Havana. @Armada_esp pic.twitter.com/b208iManDc
— EmbEspCuba (@EmbEspCuba) May 12, 2022
In the Havana roadstead, the ship was greeted by dozens of people, and after listening to the notes of the national anthems of Cuba and SpainCaptain Juan Vázquez Reyes, department head of the Cuban Navy, and the ambassador of the European nation on the island, Angel Martín Peccis, welcomed the crew.
accurate PL that in statements to the press, the Spanish ship’s captain Manuel García Ruiz, as well as Ambassador Peccis, expressed that this visit ratifies the historic bilateral linksand expressed their condolences to the families of the victims of the accident that occurred last week in Havana Saratoga Hotel.
The highest authority of the visiting ship indicated the satisfaction for the warm welcome that the Havana population has given to the sailors of the Juan Sebastián de Elcano on all occasions, which, he said, shows the strong ties, including family ties, between Cuba and Spain.
Later, and as part of the official program, Captain García Ruiz made a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Cuban Navy, where he was received by Rear Admiral Luis Reyes López, second in command of that armed institution, the news release details. .
The senior official ratified the welcome of the Cuban government and people to the guests, and wished them “the greatest success” in this new stage of navigation that will last for five months on a wide tour of ports on several continents, the agency notes.
During their stay, the Spanish sailors will hold meetings with Havana authorities, take a tour of the historical case of the city, and carry out joint activities with midshipmen from the Granma naval academy, located east of the Cuban capital.
Remember PL that the population will be able to visit the ship on Saturday, May 14, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. local time, and on Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and from 4:00 p.m. :00 to 7:30 p.m.
The brig-schooner Juan Sebastián de Elcano has four masts, named Blanca, Almansa, Asturias and Nautilus in honor of the ships that preceded it in its role. They are calculated 3770 tons of displacementand bears the name of the man who took over as captain of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition after his death, and who in 1522 completed the first circumnavigation of the planet.
The ship was launched into the sea at the shipyards of Cádiz, Spain, on March 5, 1927, and from the following year it began its journey with the midshipmen who were studying at the Naval Military School.
