Mircea’s itinerary, in fact, included the ports of Cagliari, in Italy, Las Palmas in Spain, Hamilton in Bermuda, Charleston, Baltimore, Qonset Point and New London in the US, Halifax, Arichat and Sydney in Canada, where it raced in the Tall Ships Challenge 2004, Brest in France and Cadiz in Spain.

Commenting on the vessel’s call at Malta, Romanian honorary consul Nicholas Parnis England said “this visit, as other past visits by the Mircea, confirm the excellent maritime and diplomatic relations that exist between Malta and Romania.”

An A class barque, the Mircea was built in 1938-1939 at the Blohm und Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and was commissioned by the Romanian Royal Navy. On her first voyage to the Romanian port of Constanta, back in 1939, she called at the port of Valletta. This first stop was followed by a further five – in 1956, 1966, 1967, 1971 and 1980. After World War II, the ship performed training cruises in the Black Sea, in the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Admiral on board, Rear Admiral Petrica Stoica, has fond memories of Valletta, as he had visited Malta before as a cadet on board the same Mircea 33 years ago. This 844-ton, three-masted sailing boat has a 44 metre high main mast and an 11 knots maximum engine speed. Following her last overhaul, concluded in 2002, the Mircea is now one of the most modern ships in her class. She has four other sister ships, Eagle (USA), Gorch Fock (Germany), Tovarisch (Ukraine) and Sagres (Portugal).