On Friday, we posted that the windjammer Peking is in need a new home. The 101 year old four masted steel ship has spent the last 37 years as a museum ship at New York’s South Street Seaport Museum. The seaport museum is recovering from a serious financial crisis. The museum manangement believed that they had reached an agreement with a German maritime museum in Hamburg to take the Peking off their hands. That deal apparently has collapsed over concerns about the cost of ship transport and renovation.
While many in New York are seriously concerned about the future of the Peking, it also seems that many in Hamburg are very disappointed that the ship appears not to be destined to return to the port city where she was built in 1911. A survey by the newspaper NDR.de showed that 70% of the respondents supported returning the ship to Hamburg. The local Chamber of Commerce is expressing its support and there are reports of merchants offering funding. On the other hand local politicians are concerned about the considerable costs involved in moving and repairing the ship. The Peking is reportedly in such poor condition that towing may not be practical and would require using a heavy lift ship to transport the ship.
This ship needs a new home, in the short term a storage berth but finally a return to Europe.