Gorch Fock ( 1958 ) The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy ( " Deutsche Marine " ) . She is the second ship of that name and a sister ship of the " Gorch Fock " built in 1933 . Both ships are named in honour of the German writer Johann Kinau who wrote under the pseudonym " Gorch Fock " and died in the battle of Jutland / Skagerrak in 1916 . The modern - day " Gorch Fock " was built in 1958 and has since then undertaken 146 cruises ( as of October 2006 ) , including one tour around the world in 1988 . She is sometimes referred to ( unofficially ) as the Gorch Fock II to distinguish her from her older sister ship . The ship . Germany lost all of its school ships as war reparation s after World War II to the Allies , so the ( West ) German Bundesmarine decided in 1957 to have a new training vessel built following the plans for the original " Gorch Fock " of 1933 which by that time was owned by the Soviets , and renamed to " Tovarishch " . The new ship was a modernized repeat of the " Albert Leo Schlageter " , a slightly modified sister ship of the previous " Gorch Fock " . The 1933 " Gorch Fock " had already been designed to be a very safe ship : she had a righting moment large enough to bring her back into the upright position even when heeling over to nearly 90° . Nevertheless some last - minute changes to the design were made in response to the " Pamir " disaster in 1957 , especially concerning the strength of the body and the bulkheads as well as the lifesaving equipment , including the lifeboats . The new ship was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg , launched on 23 August 1958 , and commissioned on 17 December of that year . Her home port is Kiel . The " Gorch Fock " is a three - masted barque with a steel hull 81 . 2 m ( 266 ft ) long ( without the bowsprit ) and 12 m ( 40 ft ) wide . She has a draught of some 5 . 2 m ( 17 ft ) and a displacement at full load of 1760 tons . Originally , she carried 1952 m² of canvas sails ; later , she received slightly larger sails made of synthetic materials . The tops of her fore and main masts can be lowered so that she can navigate the Kiel Canal , otherwise she would be too tall for some of the bridges spanning the canal . Over the years , various modernizations have been applied to the ship . She was fitted with air conditioning , the asbestos used originally was removed and replaced by less dangerous materials in 1991 , and in that year she also received a new auxiliary engine , a six cylinder diesel engine producing 1 , 220 kW ( 1660 hp ) , giving the ship a top speed of 13 . 7 knots under power . The interior has also been modified multiple times ; technological advances made it possible to reduce the size of the galley and enlarge the crew quarters . Officially " Gorch Fock " is a " Type 441 " class naval ship with the NATO pennant number " A60 " . Her international radio call sign is " DRAX " . The " Gorch Fock " was depicted on the 10 DM banknote of the third series ( 1960 – 1990 ) issued by the Bundesbank and is therefore one of the most portrayed ships in the world . The " Gorch Fock " participates in sailing parades and Tall Ships ' Races , where she is in amicable rivalry with the Italian vessel " Amerigo Vespucci " . Other ships of the same class include the " USCGC Eagle " , " Sagres III " , " Gorch Fock ( 1933 ) " and " Mircea " . The figurehead . The " Gorch Fock " has lost her Figurehead on several occasions : The cruises . The " Gorch Fock " has been in German Navy service as a school ship since 1958 . More than 14 , 500 cadet s have been trained on the " Gorch Fock " . In 1987 - 88 , she sailed around the world , with stops on five continents . Lasting 336 days , this was her second longest cruise , topped only by a training cruise in 1996 - 97 from Kiel to Bangkok and back that lasted 343 days . Over the last 50 years , at least six sailors have died in accidents aboard the " Gorch Fock " , either by falling from the rigging or by going overboard . Recent fatalities include an 18 - year - old officer - candidate who drowned after falling off the training ship in the North Sea at night on 3 September 2008 . On 7 November 2010 , a female officer - candidate died as a consequence of falling from the rigging . The accident happened during an exercise while the ship was moored in the port of Salvador da Bahia ( Brasil ) . In the aftermath of the latest accident , naval cadets refused to climb the 40 - metre mast , and four of them were subsequently accused of " inciting rebellion " . This was described as a mutiny in some accounts . Officers ' training on board the " Gorch Fock " was suspended pending a thorough review of training protocols and indeed the entire training program . According to a 19 November 2010 statement by Fleet Command , the officer candidates then on board were to be flown back to Germany to continue their training while the ship was docked in Ushuaia , Argentina . The captain was suspended , and a commission was appointed to investigate claims of sexual harassment and improper conduct . On 13 March 2011 , all charges against the captain were dismissed .