Friday photo - Padua/Kruzenshtern

9:40 AM

Today's picture is of a tall ship with a very interesting history. The Padua was built in 1926, not on the Clyde, but in Bremerhaven-Wesermünde. I'm assuming that Dan McDonald photographed her on a visit or stopover in Scotland.



The Padua was commissioned as a cargoship for the German shipping company F. Laeisz of Hamburg who specialised in the South American nitrate trade. The Padua was one of Laeisz' Flying P-Liners and one of her sister ships the Pommern was built on the Clyde by J. Reid & Co shipyard. Before the Second World War she carried out many long distance runs to South America, China and Australia from Germany.

In 1946, she was given to the USSR as war reparation and renamed after the early 19th century Baltic German explorer in Russian service, Adam Johann Krusenstern. She worked on hydrographic and oceanographical surveys before being transferred to the Ministry of Fisheries to be used as a schoolship.

Today the Kruzenshtern is the second largest ship in the Russian fleet and takes part in tall ship events around the world. Further information about her is available here and contemporary pictures can be found here including this one which shows the control area above as it is today with the Padua replaced with Kruzenshtern in Russian.

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