There has been an outstanding engineering feat in the Netherlands that will go down in local maritime history. The famous Batavia – a faithful, full-scale replica of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessel from 1628 – has been permanently moved ashore.
On 2nd October, the 646-tonne wooden hull was moved by a barge for approximately 250m, successfully passing through the Markermeer lock to reach its final location at the Batavialand Museum in Lelystad. The complex manoeuvre required ten months of engineering studies and involved close collaboration between technicians from the Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam shipyard, the museum complex and heavy-lift transport experts from Q3 Heavy Lift.
Managing the relocation of a 56.6-metre-long wooden vessel presented enormous structural challenges. To prevent irreparable damage to its old hull beams, the ship was first encased in a 101-tonne protective steel frame, custom-built in Amsterdam’s Damen drydock.
From there, the ship was transported by water to Lelystad for the crucial phase of the project: the vessel was loaded onto two trains of computerised self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs), each with 28 axle lines.
Thanks to the electronic control of its 56 axle lines, the colossal vessel overcame the height difference of the dam, travelling over dry land to its final position.
Translation by Giles Foster
