Great news! The Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg will sail again thanks to support from the shipping agency Greencarrier Group, which has announced that it will take the full operational and financial responsibility for the ship for the next two years. In 2016, the Ostindiefararen Götheborg Foundation which operated the ship said that could no longer afford to run the replica, which is one of the world’s largest operational wooden sailing vessels. The foundation said that it was considering its options which included putting the ship up for sale. 

The Götheborg made her maiden voyage in 2005 and is modeled after the East Indiaman of the same name which sank on September 12, 1745, while approaching Götheborg harbor on her return from a third voyage to China.

The Greencarrier Group is a shipping and logistics agency committed to providing the world with sustainable logistics and supply chain management solutions. From the Greencarrier press release:

It will be fantastic to be able to see Götheborg sail out again and continue with the mission she was built for, which was made possible by the thousands of volunteers who worked with the ship without compensation and all the large and small Gothenburg companies that participated and financed the construction and travel.

During the summer 2013 sail we were Tour Partner and were able to use the ship at various port stops for events for both employees and customers in our company. We got an absolutely fantastic response to this. Shipping and trade is what Gothenburg and Greencarrier were built on and what is our core. The history of the ship’s re-creation also embodies very much what we stand for in Greencarrier: “Yes, it’s possible!” We see that the ship has an exciting function to fill if she gets to sail and that is why we make this investment.

A first step is to ensure the sailability of the ship and the plan is to have her in the water and ready late spring 2020. We are yet to define the timeplan for 2020 but the great classic shows of large sailing vessels, Sail Amsterdam and Sail Bremen, are of course on the list of planned activities. The Nordic and Baltic capitals will also be visited by the East India sailor as well as additional ports.

In 2020 we are celebrating 20 years as a company and the ship will be a perfect place for celebrations with all of you employees as well as our customers in many different places.