Batavia Arrives at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam for Preservation Project

[By: Damen Shipyards Group]

On 19 September, the Batavia – a 56-metre replica of the original 17th-century vessel of the same name, arrived at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam (DSAm). In the coming days, the vessel will be positioned in the yard’s Dock 4 and lowered into a cradle, purpose-built by DSAm’s sister company, Niron Staal, in which she will be displayed at the Museum Batavialand in Lelystad.

Keeping tradition alive The vessel was constructed between 1985 and 1995 by Willem Vos, based on the original Batavia, a Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship from 1628. In constructing the vessel, Willem Vos employed traditional techniques and materials. The project had a strong social element, providing young people with an opportunity to learn traditional woodworking and shipbuilding techniques.

Full circle The Batavia’s arrival at DSAm brings the vessel’s story full circle; it was from Dock 4 that the vessel was first lowered into the water on 10 April 1995. Following the launch, the vessel was towed to the museum in Lelystad, where she has served as a living monument to craftsmanship for the past 31 years.

Now, in order to preserve this important piece of Dutch maritime heritage for future generations, the vessel is being brought ashore. To enable this, the museum contracted Niron Staal to construct a cradle, comprising 90 tonnes of steel.

Bespoke cradle The company constructed the cradle at its location at DSAm over a period of two months. Following this, the purpose-built cradle was blasted and painted with support from local industrial surface treatment specialist, Braspenning.

With the steel work completed, Museum Batavialand then added timber to the cradle in order to provide the vessel with a cushioned landing.

In preparation for the vessel’s arrival, DSAm lifted the cradle onto a transport pontoon, which was then submerged in the yard’s 450 x 39 metre Dock 4 – from where the Batavia was originally introduced to the water in 1995. The dock’s 8-metre draught makes it one of the few locations in the Netherlands able to facilitate such a project, due to the combined draught of the pontoon and the ship.

Soft, slow landing In the coming days, the Batavia will be towed into the dock and positioned above the cradle. DSAm will then pump the dock dry, slowly lowering the Batavia into her cradle. At this point, the yard will pump the water from the pontoon’s ballast tanks before refloating it, together with the vessel, ready for her voyage back to Lelystad.

Before this, however, the Batavia will be positioned alongside the jetty at DSAm. Over a period of several days, a team of volunteers, on behalf of the Museum Batavialand, will remove the 20-kilogramme lead ballast pigs that were required to stabilise the vessel when she was positioned in the water.

Once the ballast has been removed, the Batavia will be towed to the museum, where she is scheduled to be brought ashore on 1 October using SPMTs.

“This project represents a unique blending of old and new craftsmanship. When he constructed the vessel, Willem Vos not only brought a Dutch Golden Age ship back to life, he also provided an opportunity for scores of young people to learn the traditional arts of shipbuilding and woodworking.

“This vision is closely aligned with our own. Today, DSAm, with its in-house educational programmes, aims to provide a new generation of young people with the opportunity to develop the skills they will require for a successful career in ship repair, thereby helping to preserve our vital maritime industry for the future.”

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