Mendez Nunez, the Spanish Navy frigate is repeating the expedition of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, also known as the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation of the world 500 years ago, visiting the U.S. Naval Base Guam on September 15.
Specifically, on their visit to the U.S. Naval Base Guam, Cmdr. Antonio Gonzalez Del Tanago de la Lastra commanding officer of the Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate, noted that Guam is a remarkable port visit and that it is part of their aspiration to follow the footsteps of Ferdinand Magellan in 1519.
Our mission is to complete a worldwide deployment, we are sailing eastward from Spain, we are circumnavigating the Earth and the selection of Guam was because it was a key port in the exploration of Magellan-Elcano.
He then added that following Magellan’s death in 1521 in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippine islands, they managed to continue the trip because they found Guam and re-supplied. The voyage was completed by Spanish explorer Juan Sebastian de Elcano and a crew of 18 men on the Victoria.
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The Spanish Navy frigate is expected to sail home in October, after voyaging through Bombay, Jakarta, Manila and Bangkok.
The Mendez Nunez (F-104) – named after the Spanish hero of the 1865 War of the Pacific, naval officer Casto Méndez Núñez- was acquired by the Spanish Navy in March 2006.
See Also
- Watch: 170-year old ship wreck almost intact underwater
- Weddell Sea Expedition reaches last known site of Shackleton’s lost ship
