The historic German sail training ship Alexander von Humboldt called at ports in the United Kingdom for the last time during July, with her visit to Lerwick from 21 to 24 July also marking the ship’s final participation in the annual STI-Races.
The barque with the famous green sails will be decommissioned in October. At present, she is on a farewell tour visiting ports on the North Sea and the Baltic. The trip started in Aberdeen and she called at the ports of Kirkwall and Symbister before joining the STI-fleet in Lerwick for the final race of the series.
The retirement of the old ship will see her place taken by a new vessel, the barque Alexander von Humboldt II, which is nearing completion in Bremerhaven and will enter service in October, when her predecessor retires. The new vessel will continue the work of a square-rigged civilian sail training ship with a special focus on young people. The old vessel was proving too costly to maintain, and so owners Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training (DSST) decided to make plans to build the new ship.
