The Swedish Ship Götheborg

THE SWEDISH SHIP Gﾃ傍HEBORG REDISCOVERING THE WORLD

A historic adventure The Swedish Ship GÜtheborg is the world’s largest wooden ship sailing. The ship has a fascinating history of adventure, entrepreneurship, craftsmanship and international trade.

Today, she voyages across the oceans in order to promote cultural exchange, peaceful trade and international relations.

The project creates cross-border meetings and inspires people to realize their dreams and to rediscover the world.

The Swedish East India Company In 1731, the original Swedish East India Company was established.

The company had exclusive rights to trade with the East Indies, building 37 ships and conducting 132 trade voyages.

The company mainly imported exclusive products such as silk, tea, spices and porcelain for wealthy merchants in Europe.

The original ship Gรถtheborg Gรถtheborg was built at the Terra Nova shipyard in Stockholm in 1738.

On her third voyage, returning from China after 30 months at sea, she ran aground and sank just two kilometers from her home port of Gothenburg.

Fortuitously, nobody was lost and most of the cargo was salvaged.

1745

Gรถtheborg runs aground

Underwater archaeological excavations

1984

The wreck was rediscovered by a group of divers. The dream of building a new East Indiaman using old techniques and sailing the oceans once more was brought to life.

A new ship of the old variety 1995-2005 GĂśtheborg was built using old methods and the same materials as for the original ships.

The construction placed great demands on the craftsmanship and research. More than 2,300 yd2 of hand-stitched sails, 55,000 hand-forged nails and 22 short tons of hand-beaten ropes went into the construction. The hull consists of 1,073 yd3 of wood.

To meet today’s demands for safety, the ship is also equipped with modern technology.

The world’s largest wooden ship sailing Length

Beam

Height

192

36

154

Displacement

Sail area

Crew

1323

2350

80

foot

short tons

foot

yd 2

foot

people

A dream comes true 2005 – 2007 After many years of dedication and hard work, the ship is finally ready for her first expedition.

The incredible voyage to China attracts worldwide attention.

Gothenburg London Nice CĂĄdiz

Alexandria

Djibouti

Shanghai Canton Chennai

Hong Kong

Singapore

Recife

Jakarta

Cape Town

Port Elizabeth

Gothenburg - Shanghai

Fremantle

Shanghai - Gothenburg

A PR success The ship’s voyage are followed by the world’s media. National TV broadcasts are interspersed with radio reports and more than 12,000 articles were written about the ship.

Media value

CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO AND H.M. KING CARL XVI GUSTAF

500 million USD

The Swedish Ship GÜtheborg creates a meeting place for people of all ages, cultures and nationalities. The ship’s continuing journeys to new locations around the world is made possible by the strong desire for adventure, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Since being launched in 2005 the ship has been used for everything, from official opening ceremonies to cultural events.

2008 Baltic Sea Tour 

Commemoration 1809 Sweden-Finland, Helsinki

2009 Scandinavian Tour 

Start vessel for the Volvo Ocean Race 

Childhood Foundation’s 10 year jubilee 

Inauguration of Kosterhavet Marine National Park 

EU meeting of ministers

2010 China’s vice president visits the ship 

Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding in Stockholm 

Sail Amsterdam

Be part of the adventure Become a partner of the project 

Book corporate events 

Sail as a volunteer 

Organize seminars and workshops 

Develop new partnerships 

Book the ship for your city

Founders:

WWW.SOIC.SE VER. 2.0 2011