Le Quy Don - from Poland to Vietnam

The shoulders of Le Qui Don under full sail. According to some reports, its appearance is spoiled by a high stern and cutting in the bow. The name of the unit comes from a XNUMXth century Vietnamese poet, philosopher and official. Photo Marine projects

Sail training ships are not essential even in the oldest navies. Modern methods of training ship personnel have little in common with the spirit of the ancient sea wolves flying under sail. Currently, such units are used to represent the flag and shape the character of future sailors. In the meantime, they have attracted the attention of two navies who have carried out significant modernization and as part of this also focused on the training of sailing ships. We are talking about Algeria and Vietnam, and interestingly, both countries ordered these ships in ... Poland.

The Algerian ship is being built at the Gdansk Remontowa Shipbuilding plant, while the Vietnamese three-masted barge Lê Quý Đôn is already ready, and while this issue of M&O was being prepared for printing, it was supposed to go on a voyage to the country. This is the first sailing ship of this size to be built entirely in Poland in over 20 years.

23 months

The contract for the construction of a training sailboat for Học viện Hải Quân Việt Nam in Nha Trang (Naval Academy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) was awarded to Polski Holding Obronny in 2013. construction at the Gdansk shipyard Marine Projects Ltd.

The SPS‑63/PR project, developed in 2010 by Choren Design & Consulting and approved by the name of the famous sailboat designer Zygmunt Choren, was chosen as the basis. The optimization of the theoretical hull contours was performed by the Norwegian company Marine Software Integration AS, and the shipyard's technical bureau prepared detailed documentation.

Block construction (sheet metal cutting) began on 12 June 2014, and the keel-laying ceremony took place on 2 July. Construction proceeded smoothly and the hull was technically launched on 30 September. After that, he returned to the factory floor for further equipment. She left on June 2 this year, when the unit was finally launched. The masts were installed on the pier of the shipyard, and the work continued. In July, tests on a cable started, after which the barge went to sea - for the first time at 21 tm. In the second half of August, he was ready for technical acceptance at PHO.

Meanwhile, the preparation of the future crew of Lê Quý ôna was going on. With the consent of the Ministry of National Defense, they were led by the Naval Academy and the 3rd Ship Flotilla in Gdynia. From June 29 of this year. A group of 40 Vietnamese from the permanent crew and cadets completed a course of navigation, operation of ship mechanisms and trips on the yachts "Admiral Dikman" and "Oksivi", as well as the barque ORP "Iskra". On August 28, on board his new sailboat, the commandant-rector of the Military Medical Academy prof. doctor hab. Commander Tomasz Schubricht, received certificates of completion.

Marine Projects successfully commissioned the block 23 months after signing the contract with PHO. This is a good example of successful cooperation between the Holding and a Polish shipyard and a forecast for further orders. PHO President Marcin Idzik confirmed that the group is negotiating with other potential buyers of ships from Polish factories, including sailboats.

The dispute is not about tastes

Well, since there is no discussion, then this topic should end. However, there is a problem with this, because according to many, the figure of Le Qui Don does not correspond to the recognized classics of Sigmund Choren. — Where is the stern of the cruiser? “And that bridge on the nose…”. Indeed, a person breaks stereotypes and is not obliged to please everyone. This does not change the fact that it is modern and well adapted for training Vietnamese navy cadets.