After a 14-day cruise from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), the training ship ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ called at New York City for the 31st time.
The ship sailed through the Hudson River before docking at NY to support the Spanish candidature as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2015-16. The crew also participated in an intense schedule of events during the port of call.
The midshipmen officially visited the United Nations Headquarters and the memorial dedicated to the 9-11 victims at Ground Zero. As part of their professional training program they also visited the U.S. Navy submarine base in New London.
Both the Spanish Ambassador in Washington and the Ambassador to the United Nations were welcomed on board. Other Spanish military authorities living in that North American nation also visited the ship.
The ship was docked in a very central pier in Manhattan and was visited by many New Yorkers and school children. The music band played a concert in the busy Times Square.
The ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ is now sailing towards Europe where she will call at the ports of Dublin, Hamburg and Oslo before arriving at Marin on July 13th, thus concluding her 85th Training Cruise.
[mappress] Press Release, May 21, 2014, Image: Spanish Navy