The Uruguayan Navy's training vessel Capitán Miranda sailed into the city Friday as part of a five-month cruise, the first the ship has taken in nearly 10 years.

The 210-foot, three-mast schooner is docked at City Pier and is offering free public tours on Saturday and Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The ship, which is about halfway through its cruise, was just in Baltimore and will depart Monday for Boston.

Lt. Diego Fros, deck officer, one of 80 crew members on board, said the ship has two missions: first to train new naval officers, and second, to serve as an ambassador of sorts for Uruguay.

Also on board the ship are 15 new Uruguayan naval officers, or midshipman, as well as other military officers from Uruguay, and members of navies of other countries, including a U.S. Navy sailor.

"They put into practice all that they know. It's different. The ship is moving. You feel bad," Fros said, indicating the possibility of getting seasick.

The ship's commanding officer, Rodolfo D. Grolero, put it this way: "If you don't understand the sea, you can't manage the ship at sea. The sea imposes things, you have to manage all of these different things to anticipate some issues, how to understand what is rough seas, strong winds, storms."

Mario Marega, 23, a member of Uruguay's Coast Guard, which falls under the same ministry of defense as Uruguay's Navy, said he and the other officers on board have duties from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Marega said he's enjoyed visiting new places and learning about different cultures.

Having officers aboard from different countries helps establish relationships and ties between the various nations, Fros said. He sailed aboard the ship as a midshipman in 2009 and said he still receives messages from those he sailed with from around the globe.

The 89-year-old ship is named after Uruguayan naval Capt. Francisco Prudencio Miranda, who was a marine geographer, and was originally built as a survey vessel. The Capitán Miranda underwent a major refit in 1977 and was rededicated as a sail training vessel.

More recently, the ship underwent a major overhaul, similar to what the U.S. Coast Guard's training vessel, barque Eagle, went through. The overhaul, which took place from 2013 to 2018, involved replacing the ship's diesel engine, among other major renovations. The last time it embarked on a cruise like the one it's on now was in 2010, Fros said.

j.bergman@theday.com