{"id":"3394","t":"Merchant Navy Cadet ","t_s":-1,"tags":["3298","3299"],"thumb":{"fid":"4423","styles":{"circle_medium":"circle_medium_4423","circle_mini":"circle_mini_4423"},"ext":"png"},"pics":["4208"],"loc":"3335","loc_map":-1,"body":"<p>The Mercator, named after the famous geographer Gerardus Mercator, who invented Mercator projection maps<strong>, <\/strong>was the Belgian Merchant Navy\u2019s fifth training vessel. Every year between 1932 and 1961, about fifty apprentice officers were trained during four-month winter voyages in the Atlantic, followed by three-month summer crossings. The ship was put in dock, first in Antwerp and then in Ostend; it has since become a tourist attraction and receives around 130,000 visitors every year.<\/p>\r\n","fav":"0","fav_l":"0","don":"The Mercator Training Vessel","d_y":2006,"d_m":5,"d_d":11,"d_s":-1}