Kingstown-St. Vincent and the Grenadines, June 9, 2017: A Venezuelan naval vessel, the Simón Bolívar School vessel will pay an official visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines from June 14th – 17th. The vessel will arrive at Port Kingstown on Tuesday June 13th from St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Simón Bolívar School vessel is a training vessel for the Venezuelan Navy; trains cadets and future officers of the Venezuelan navy and projects the image of Venezuela in all ports of visit. The ship is named after Simón Bolívar, the liberator of Bolivia, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.

While in Port Kingstown there will be an Official Guard of honour and welcome ceremony on Wednesday June 14th at 10:00 am at the Cruise Ship Berth. Later that day the visiting crew will play a friendly football match with the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force football team at the Grammar School Playing Field commencing at 4:30 pm.

The vessel, also known as the ‘Venezuelan Ambassador Without Borders’ was built in Bilbao, Spain, in 1979, and has a rich history having participated in Operation Sail in 1986 and again in 2000, visiting New York City on both occasions; as such students across St. Vincent and the Grenadines through the Ministry of Education, Reconciliation and Ecclesiastical Affairs will receive guided tours of the vessel throughout the week.

The Vessel will also be opened to the public on Wednesday June 14th from 2:30 – 6:00 pm; Thursday 15th from 9:00 am- 1:00 pm and on Friday June 16th from 9:00 am – 8:00 pm.

The crew, which includes officers and cadets, will also tour tourism sites. The vessel will depart Port Kingstown on Saturday June 17th.(API)