The crew is made up of 247 officers and sailors and 117 students of the first class of the Livorno Naval Academy
Sailboat Amerigo Vespucci. Photo: Italian Navy Militare Andrea Guidugli | Tuesday , August 1, 2023, 06:00
On July 1, 2023, the sailboat Amerigo Vespucci of the Italian Marina Militare set sail from the port of Genoa after a ceremony with a flyover by the Frecce Tricolori Acrobatic Patrol. The ship’s commander is Captain Luigi Romagnoli, with a crew of 247 officers and sailors and 117 students from the first class of the Livorno Naval Academy.
The Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, and the highest political and military authorities, were present at the ceremony, before starting the circumnavigation of the globe that will end in 2025.
The ship was built in Castellamare di Stabia in 1931 and has a length of 101 meters, a hull length of 83 meters, a width of 15.36 meters and a draft of 7.3 meters. She is equipped with two 1,360 KW MTU diesel engines, two 760 KW MTU diesel generators, two 750 KW ASI electric motors and a fixed-pitch propeller
Waste Treatment System
The mission not only acts as an ambassador for the Italian industries dedicated to Defense, but will also serve to exalt the ecological vocation, since it has been equipped since 2014 with a system for the destruction of all types of organic and inorganic waste from the company dedicated to the design and manufacture of OMPECO waste treatment equipment, which is already fitted to most MMI vessels and also by the Marine Nationale and the Royal Navy.
The Amerigo Vespucci is known throughout the world for the beauty of its lines and for some episodes that demonstrated the seamanship of the commanders, such as the captain Foschini, who sailed across the Thames to the Admiralty under sail, arousing the admiration of the English, and the captain of the ship Straulino, known for his Olympic successes.
The ship’s route begins in Genoa and will take you to Monte Carlo, Marseille, Barcelona, to then go to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, go down to Dakar, cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive in Santo Domingo, Cartagena in Colombia, Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro. in Brazil, Montevideo in Uruguay, Buenos Aires and Ushuaia in Argentina.
Then it will cross the Strait of Magellan and head to Punta Arenas and Valparaíso in Chile, passing through Callao in Peru, Guayaquil in Ecuador, Balboa in Panama, Acapulco in Mexico and Los Angeles in the US.
Finally, they will tour the Pacific visiting Honolulu, Tokyo, Manila, Darwin in Australia, Jakarta, Singapore, Mumbai, Karachi, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Safaga in Egypt and Larnaca, to arrive at La Spezia in Italy, scheduled for 11 February 2025.
