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Albatros (1899)
Encyclopedia
The Albatros is a sailing ketch
built in the Netherlands
in 1899. Now used as a sail training vessel, she was the last sailing ship
carrying commercial cargo in Europe.
in the Netherlands
in 1899 as a Nordzee Klipper or Galliot. Her first captain was Johannes Muller of Middelharnis
, near Rotterdam
. In 1920 she was sold to Captain Lolk from Svendborg
. In 1941, Lolk sold Albatros to Captain Rasmussen from Hobro
. During the Second World War, Albatros was used to smuggle Jews
and political dissidents from Nazi-occupied Denmark to neutral Sweden
and smuggled weapons for the Danish Resistance
hidden amongst her cargo on the return journey. Her rigging was reduced in 1964 and the rivetted steel below the waterline replaced with welded steel, and a more powerful engine fitted to replace the engine that was fitted in 1933. Rasmussen retired in 1978, and Albatros was laid up in Copenhagen
. In 1980, Antonius "Ton" Brouwer bought the Albatros, and made Amsterdam
her new home port. She was restored by Germanischer Lloyd
between 1983 and 1987 and recommissioned as a sailing cargo ship.
Scotland. Between 1987 and 1996, she was often to be seen at Wells next the Sea delivering her cargo of soya
beans. With the closure of Wells as a commercial port in September 1995 her career as a cargo ship was finally over. The final load of 100 tons of soya beans were delivered on 5 September 1996. During this time, her cargos included corn
, phosphates and timber
. Apart from the regular run between Ghent
and Wells, Albatros visited ports in the Channel Islands
, Denmark
, England
, Estonia
, Finland
, Germany
, Norway
, Poland
, Scotland
and Sweden
, sometimes making faster passages than motor driven ships.
and used as a sailing classroom in an environmental education program that led to more than one case of plagiarism by Greenpeace and "The Albatros Project". In 2001, she returned to Wells, and The Albatros Project was created to support the upkeep of the ship. On 22 August 2004, a passenger on board the Albatros died when he fell from the rigging. Albatros was in the Thames Estuary
at the time, and an investigation was carried out by the MAIB
. Three recommendations were made.
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
built in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1899. Now used as a sail training vessel, she was the last sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
carrying commercial cargo in Europe.
1899-1987
Albatros was built at Capelle aan den IJsselCapelle aan den IJssel
Capelle aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 65,605 in 2005, and covers an area of 15.42 km² of which 1.13 km² is water...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1899 as a Nordzee Klipper or Galliot. Her first captain was Johannes Muller of Middelharnis
Middelharnis
Middelharnis is a municipality and a village in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 86.79 km² ....
, near Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. In 1920 she was sold to Captain Lolk from Svendborg
Svendborg
Svendborg is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark. The town is in Svendborg municipality . Svendborg is the second-largest city on Funen and has a population of 27,009 ....
. In 1941, Lolk sold Albatros to Captain Rasmussen from Hobro
Hobro
Hobro with a population of 11,635 - is a town in Mariagerfjord municipality in Region Nordjylland on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark....
. During the Second World War, Albatros was used to smuggle Jews
Rescue of the Danish Jews
The rescue of the Danish Jews occurred during Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark during World War II. On October 1st 1943 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered Danish Jews to be arrested and deported...
and political dissidents from Nazi-occupied Denmark to neutral Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and smuggled weapons for the Danish Resistance
Danish resistance movement
The Danish resistance movement was an underground insurgency movement to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the unusually lenient terms given to Danish people by the Nazi occupation authority, the movement was slower to develop effective tactics on a wide scale...
hidden amongst her cargo on the return journey. Her rigging was reduced in 1964 and the rivetted steel below the waterline replaced with welded steel, and a more powerful engine fitted to replace the engine that was fitted in 1933. Rasmussen retired in 1978, and Albatros was laid up in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. In 1980, Antonius "Ton" Brouwer bought the Albatros, and made Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
her new home port. She was restored by Germanischer Lloyd
Germanischer Lloyd
The Germanischer Lloyd SE is a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. As a technical supervisory organization Germanischer Lloyd conducts safety surveys on more than 7,000 ships with over 100 Mio GT...
between 1983 and 1987 and recommissioned as a sailing cargo ship.
1988-1996
Her first cargo after restoration was soya beans to MacduffMacduff
Macduff may refer to:* Macduff , the character in Shakespeare's Macbeth* Macduff, Aberdeenshire, the former burgh which is now within the Aberdeenshire council area of Scotland* the Clan MacDuff, a Scottish clan...
Scotland. Between 1987 and 1996, she was often to be seen at Wells next the Sea delivering her cargo of soya
Soya
Soya can mean:* Soya bean* Sōya District, Hokkaidō* Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaidō* Soya3D, a high-level three-dimensional rendering engine for the Python programming language* Soya sauce, a fermented sauce made from soybeans, roasted grain, water and salt....
beans. With the closure of Wells as a commercial port in September 1995 her career as a cargo ship was finally over. The final load of 100 tons of soya beans were delivered on 5 September 1996. During this time, her cargos included corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, phosphates and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
. Apart from the regular run between Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and Wells, Albatros visited ports in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, sometimes making faster passages than motor driven ships.
Since 1996
Albatros was converted to a passenger ship in 1997-98. Between 1998 and 2000, she was chartered and rebuild by GreenpeaceGreenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and used as a sailing classroom in an environmental education program that led to more than one case of plagiarism by Greenpeace and "The Albatros Project". In 2001, she returned to Wells, and The Albatros Project was created to support the upkeep of the ship. On 22 August 2004, a passenger on board the Albatros died when he fell from the rigging. Albatros was in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
at the time, and an investigation was carried out by the MAIB
Marine Accident Investigation Branch
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...
. Three recommendations were made.
External links
- HTML version of MAIB report.
- Scale model of the Albatros.
- The Albatros, at Wells-next-the-Sea