BAP Unión (BEV-161) is a training ship of the Peruvian Navy[12] built in 2012–2015 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA.

However, due to the economic crisis of debt and hyper-inflation Peru suffered at the end of the 1980s,[21] and later for public spending restraints, the project was postponed.

[32] On January 27, 2016 BAP Unión was commissioned in an official flag raising ceremony held on its deck witnessed by the President Ollanta Humala, Jakke Valakivi, the Minister of Defense and Admiral Edmundo Deville, the Commander of the Navy.

[40] Although the main purpose of Unión is to serve as a training ship for the Peruvian Navy, it has also been conceived to be a sailing ambassador for her home country.

[43] The ship's figurehead was made of bronze by the Peruvian sculptor Pilar Martínez Woodman, and it features several symbols of the Inca culture that previously existed in what is now Peru.

Over the escutcheon is the image of a bright sun and the legend "Marina de Guerra del Perú" (Navy of Peru) and below the name and number of the ship.

[48] Due to its use as a training ship, Unión's interior includes an auditorium, a library, a computing platform and classrooms to instruct cadets in astronomic navigation; meteorology; oceanography; hydrography; and naval operations and maneuvers.

[35] The journey, which was officially named as "VIEX 2016", acronym in Spanish of "Viaje de Instrucción al Extranjero 2016" (Training Trip Abroad 2016), had a length of three months, in which the Unión crew visited the ports of Guayaquil (Ecuador), Cartagena (Colombia), San Juan (Puerto Rico), La Habana (Cuba), Miami (United States), Veracruz (Mexico) and Balboa (Panama), before to returning to its base in Callao.

[50][51] The crew and navy cadets received instruction in naval exercises and maneuvers, as well as showing people abroad several elements of Peruvian culture.

[60] commemorating the Opening Ceremony on Feb 18, 1939 of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, San Francisco, California, United States of America.

The General Consul of Peru in San Francisco on Feb 19, 1939, Fernando Berckemeyer spoke at the Opening Ceremony of the Golden Gate International Exposition, also known as GGIE.