The ship is expected to moor close to the central quay of the city opposite the Pudong free economic zone and will be berthed at 7 p.m. local time.
It has been reported at the Maritime State University of Vladivostok, from where the frigate started its round-the-world tour on January 25, 2003, that March 8 is a holiday. The cadets will go sightseeing.
During the stay in Shanghai the ship's crewmen will have a meeting with Chinese businessmen, press conferences and arrange a photo display, while Shanghai residents will have a chance to learn about the economic possibilities of Eastern Siberia and the Far East and about the activities of the Baikal Economic Forum.
The Russian Club in Shanghai with a membership of over 200 Russians permanently residing in that city will have a meeting with the crew on board the Nadezhda.
On February 18 the frigate passed the longitude of Vladivostok, thus having completed a full circle around the world. During the voyage it crossed the equator three times.
Its tour round the world is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the first round-the-world voyage made by Russian seamen, commanded by Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky, on the Nadezhda and Neva sloops. The present route of the Nadezhda voyage is maximally close to that of the famous historical journey.
Apart from the crew and the cadets, the frigate also carries a Russian expedition studying environmental problems and processes going on in the World Ocean.
During the first stage of the voyage, the frigate sailed from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg, across the Pacific and Indian oceans and reached the Atlantic Ocean through the Suez Canal. After the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the former capital of the Russian Empire, in which the crew took part, the Nadezhda visited Great Britain, the Canary Islands, Brazil, the Falkland Islands, Chile, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Hong Kong.
After China the frigate will stop in Japan and South Korea on the way to its home port of Vladivostok. The sea travelers are expected to be at home late in March.
