With the arrival of the Sail Training Ship (BEV-161) “Unión” to the port of Callao, the most daring enterprise undertaken by the Peruvian Navy in recent times came to a successful conclusion: the world circumnavigation in 317 days. It was indeed a risky venture initiated by the high command, which made the decision to send a mission of 255 men and women to navigate the oceans for 317 days. This has demonstrated the maturity of the professional capabilities achieved by Peruvian sailors in planning and executing oceanic operations over very long distances. Furthermore, it has served to showcase the high technological level attained by the shipbuilding industry of the South American country, which has seen nearly a decade of spectacular recovery in the production of high-sea vessels.
Manufactured in the shipyards of the Industrial Service of the Navy (SIMA Peru) with the design by the Spanish company CYPSA (Castellanos y Pamies, S.L.), the “Unión” is a dream of generations finally realized. The Peruvian Navy has always aspired to have its own properly conceived sailing training ship, similar to those long possessed by its neighbors Ecuador, with the “Guayas,” and Chile with the “Esmeralda.”
Argentina (with the “Libertad”), Brazil (“Cisne Blanco”), Colombia (“Gloria”), Venezuela (“Simón Bolívar”), Uruguay (“Capitán Miranda”), as well as Mexico (“Cuauhtémoc”), all have their own. Peru was missing, a country with a great maritime tradition that, however, generally employed warships such as cruisers, destroyers, and frigates for the training of its future crews.
In this endeavor, much is remembered about the BAP Independencia, formerly USS Bellatrix, a high-speed transport from World War II acquired secondhand in August 1963, which took students of the time on journeys to various international destinations, many of whom have led the institution in recent times. After its retirement in 1988, its place was taken by the missile light cruiser BAP Almirante Grau (formerly of the De Ruyter class), which was tasked not only with its role in national defense but also with taking cadets on “summer cruises” along the entire 3,080-kilometer coastline.
At various times, the BAP Marte, a small sailboat of Canadian origin received in 1999, was employed for basic instruction and short sailing trips not far from Callao. More recently, some of the missile frigates of the Lupo class have been tasked with this formative role, where students could practice and observe modern naval operations.
But they lacked the unparalleled experience of operating with sails and stars, in the manner of over 300 years ago, where personal experience and skill were paramount.
With the BEV Unión, the perspective in the formation of future leaders of the Peruvian Navy takes on an incalculable dimension, as they now have an ideal space for the development of responsibility and leadership skills, unity, discipline, and knowledge of the secrets of the sea. All of this, hand in hand with the technological modernization plan that has already begun to unfold, and in which they will participate in the coming years. The perfect equation.
You may also like: The Peruvian Army has selected the K808 from South Korea as its future 8×8 Wheeled Armored Combat Vehicle
