One Last Ocean Crossing: The 1911 Barque Peking Returns to Germany by G regory DL Morris ome time in mid to late June, well within the quietest months on the North Atlantic, a heavy1i ft d ock ship op erated by Combi Lift G mbH out of Bremen, Germany, is scheduled to carry the century-old fourmasted barque Peking home to H amb urg. There, she will become the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar m aritim e heritage complex being built in that historic port on the Elbe River. Peking h as spent the las t fo ur-plus d ecad es at the South Street Seaport Museum in N ew York City, where she was much loved by the public, but not particularly well maintained because of the tenuous finances at South Stree t. Peking has a length of 377 feet, beam of 47 feet, and for purposes of the lift ship will have a calculated gross weight of about 3,500 metric tons. The process of loading the barque onto the heavy-lift dock sh ip is estimated to take three to fo u r days, and the transAtl antic cross ing w ill take a minimum of twelve days. "S he's not particularly heavy, relative to, say, a military vessel ," sa id A lexandre Poirier, n aval architect and projec t engineer fo r Peking at Stiftung Hamburg M aritim (H amburg M aritime Foundation), "but she is long and fragile. She's only got 3-4 mi ll imeters of hull plating lefr at the waterline, our of an original thickness of 12 mm or more. There is 8-9 mm thickness in mos t of the rest of the hull. She will be loaded stern first, with
June 20 16, and the contract was signed that November fo r sh ipment within May/June 201 7." Combi Lift is a m ember of th e Harren & Partner Gro up. Ju st as several lift-vessel operators ~ competed to carry Peking across the ~ A tlantic, fo ur shipya rds in and aro und § H amburg are bidding to do the restoration ~ wo rk. Poirier said that Stiftung H amburg !i Mari tim met with the bidders at the end t ~ of A pril, bur that a fin al decision will take ~~ more time. 8 U nder the tenn s of the negoti ation G~ with South Street Seaport M useum, the ~ ~ Germ an found ation will p ay fo r the ~ prepara tion work perfo rmed by Caddell, ~ the ocean voyage by Combi Li ft, and the ~ " res toration wo rk on ce the ship is in ~ Germany, all out of the same ₏26 million IQ> ($28.4 million) grant p led ged by the Peking as a museum ship in New York. German government; the total grant for the bowsprit peeking over the stern gate of rhe entire m aritim e heritage complex is the lift vessel." ₏120 million ($ 131 million). Stifrun g That fragility means that the bracing H a mburg M a ritim is resp onsible for fo r the lift will be done from the outside at brin gin g Peking home and restoring the the th ree web fr ames . While the collision vessel. Local authorities are responsible for bu lkheads are sound, they are too fa r developing the museum complex. Poirier fo rward and aft to be of use. O ther than expl ains that his fo undation will gift the the corrosion and attri tion at the waterline, restored ship to the town as the centerpiece however, "the old girl is in remarkably good of the museum complex. The plan calls for shape," Poirier sa id, pointing to the original the sh ip to be open to visitors in 2020, and 1911 beams, joi nts, and plates th ro ughout for the full muse um complex to be the hull, some still showing the remai ns of completed over the yea rs to follow: "Getting original paint. Peking hom e h as been a fourteen-yea r Peking left the Seapo rt museum in cou m hip. We were finally able to get the Ma nh attan in September 201 6 and spent fi nancing for the harbor museum. The grant the wi nter across the harbor at Caddell Dry was one of the bigges t ever fo r a historical D ock & Repair on Staten Island, New development fro m the government. We will Yo rk. During her stay there, all ya rds and replace the whole double bottom of the ship the fo ur topmasts we re sent down; the only and rebuild her rig. Once the restoration two original ya rds remaining were las hed is completed, in about three years, the ship o n deck; and abou t 200 metric to ns of will be d isplayed Boating, re-rigged, and concrete ballast were removed . All interior with all h er historical interior spaces structures-temporary bulkheads, display restored or recreated ." cases installed fo r museum use-have been Peking is a steel-hulled, four-m as ted removed . barque. She was built by Blohm+Voss in Peer Kelch, chartering m anager fo r 19 11 and sailed fo r the H amburg- based F. Combi Lift, said that transports of historic Laeisz, as part of the "Flying P Line." Peking vessels are "more the exception than the was one of the las t windj ammers used to rule." Kelch said: "For Peking, we started carry general cargo from Europe to the wes t discussions m ore than ten yea rs ago in Coast of South A merica and hau l nitrates 2007. Final negotiations commenced in back. She was m ade famous to A merican Peking's two remaining original yards and an anchor are lashed to the deck in preparation for her last transAtlantic crossing via heavy lift ship.
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SEA HISTORY 159, SUMMER 201 7