The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia has published a notice on its website about the launching of the training ship Gloria, which we’ve blogged about before, at the Celaya Shipyards in Erandio.
In its report, the Colombian Chancellery tells the story of the construction of this barque, which was the first of the four that this historic Basque shipyard built for Latin American countries.
Programa de la botadura del Gloria
The decision to build her was made in January 1966, when a decree by the Government of Colombia charged Celaya Shipyards with the construction of a brigantine sailing barque with three masts. The keel was laid on December 2, 1967, when she was christened with the name she’s carried for over fifty years, Gloria. After being assembled “while afloat”, she was delivered in September 1968. She then made her inaugural voyage, which ended in November in Cartagena de Indias.
In the report we’ve linked to, we also learned that, in a ceremony with many members of the Colombian navy, the christeners were Gloria Zawadsky de Rebeiz and poet Amira de la Rosa, whose birth name, Amira Arrieta McGregor, reveals her indisputably Basque heritage.
After this training ship, Celaya Shipyards built three more of the same type:
Back in 2014, we brought you an article about the barques like this. The last time we brought up the Gloria and her sisters, all of which were launched in the Estuary of Bilbao, was in 2018, just when the training ship was celebrating the 50th anniversary of her maiden voyage.
Another beautiful page in the history of Basque naval construction.
We’re including the report published on the website of the Colombian Chancellery commemorating this date, and the report from the Colombian Ministry of Defense, which talks about the construction of this barque.
Cancillería de Colombia – Colombia
En los archivos de la Cancillería: El bautizo del buque “Gloria” hace 52 años en España
El ARC Gloria de la Armada de Colombia ha sido por más de cincuenta años, el buque insignia de las fuerzas militares del país y ha representado en diversos escenarios, la labor diplomática de la nación. Su historia inicia cuando se logró por decreto 111 de enero de 1966 firmar y contratar la construcción de un buque a vela tipo bergantín de tres palos, con la compañía de Astilleros y Talleres Celaya S.A. en la ciudad de Bilbao (España).
La historia del velero ARC “Gloria” se remonta a 1966 cuando mediante Decreto No. 111 de Enero del mismo año, siendo comandante de la Armada el Señor Vicealmirante Orlando Lemaitre Torres, el gobierno colombiano autorizó a la Armada Nacional para adquirir un Buque de Vela tipo Bergantín Barca, de tres palos, con el fin de destinarlo como Buque Escuela de la Armada Nacional.
