The Batavia, an approximately 650-tonne wooden vessel built in 1628, is now in its new location on land at Museum Batavialand. On Friday, October 2, the 56.6-meter-long ship was transported from the pontoon to the museum grounds, marking the completion of a remarkable and technically complex relocation, stated the museum located in Lelystad, The Netherlands.
“After 31 years in dry dock, a new phase is now beginning for the Batavia,” stated Museum Batavialand. “On land, we can better protect the wooden ship, let it dry, and perform more targeted maintenance. This way, we ensure that the Batavia will be preserved for future generations. We hope that visitors will be able to come aboard again in early 2027.”
The relocation started on September 19. That was when the Batavia set sail from Lelystad for the last time. With its masts still in place, she was towed across the Markermeer Lake in Central Netherlands to Amsterdam.
At Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam, the Batavia entered the dry dock. There, the ship was carefully placed on a specially designed steel support structure. This so-called “chair” supports the wooden hull during transport and at its new location.
On October 1, the journey back to Lelystad began. This time, the Batavia was secured in her steel cradle on a pontoon. A day later, the final phase of the operation took place: using a special computer-controlled transport vehicle, the ship was driven off the pontoon and moved to her new location.
The Batavia is a faithful reconstruction of the VOC ship Batavia from 1628. The ship was built in Lelystad between 1985 and 1995 under the direction of master shipbuilder Willem Vos. More than 600 young people contributed to the ship’s construction as part of their vocational training. Since then, the Batavia has become an icon of Lelystad, and the ship has been visited by approximately five million people. With its placement on land, a new phase begins, ensuring that the Batavia will be preserved for future generations.
(Photo from Museum Batavialand)