BAP Union

The BAP Union is a training ship of the Peruvian Navy. It is a four-masted steel hulled full rigged barque built in 2014 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA. The ship's name is a reference to a Peruvian corvette that participated in the War of the Pacific as part of a naval squadron under the command of Miguel Grau, the most important hero of the Peruvian Navy.

Like other similar ships, the Union has been conceived not only for training purposes, but also to be a sailing ambassador for her home country. Due to its features and dimensions, it has been considered as the largest sail vessel in Latin America.

History


For a long time, the Peruvian Navy had desired a training ship to be used in the instruction of its cadets. Accordingly, the Peruvian government enacted in 1985 Law N° 24094 which declared as a public necessity the navy having this kind of ship. However, due to the economic crisis Peru suffered at the end of the 1980s, and later for public spending restraints, the project was constantly postponed.

It was not until 2012 that the Peruvian government announced its decision to order the ship's construction by the Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA; in cooperation with the Government of Spain, through the contractors CYPSA and Navantia, which were responsible for the ship´s structural design. On December 8, 2012 Union's construction began with a keel laying ceremony in presence of the Peruvian president Ollanta Humala. The hull was finished two years later and launched on December 22, 2014.

In June 2015, the ship received its masts and propeller; and the interior fitout began in charge of contractors Acopafi and MO Contract. Also, according to an agreement between SIMA and Navantia, the ship was provided with an "Integrated Control System Platform, Navigation and Communications".

While the ship is still under construction, the Peruvian government arranged training for the future Union's crew with the help of an instructor of the Spanish Navy and by sending personnel to serve on training ships of other countries, such as the Mexican sailing ship ARM Cuauhtémoc. Also, a Peruvian delegation was sent to take part in maintenance and repair works on Colombian sailing ship ARC Gloria.