Rupertus-Strako hands over museum ship "Elbe 3" after one year of refurbishment
The historic lightship "Elbe 3" returned to the Museumshafen in Bremerhaven on Monday, May 6th. The refurbishment of the museum ship took around a year.
For more than a decade, the 115-year-old ship was not accessible to visitors due to its poor condition. Then the federal government approved funding for the refurbishment and the state and city also got involved.
The main contractor Rupertus-Strako, a subsidiary of our Group, extensively refurbished the ship in a dry dock belonging to our subsidiary BREDO DRY DOCKS. In the process, damage was discovered during blasting of the steel wall that was significantly greater than what the surveyors had previously been able to detect while the ship was afloat. Large parts of the hull had to be replaced. The ship was fully inspected, all entrances and stairs were renewed and the outer wall was given a fresh coat of paint.
As on the outward journey to the shipyard, our subsidiary BVT Chartering and Logistics pulled and pushed the ship through the fishing port to the double lock with two tugs. The journey continued across the Weser through the sports lock back to the New Harbor.
Guided tours on board will be possible in future. In a second step, further work is required to prepare the interior of the ship so that it can be used for exhibitions, events or as a floating classroom with educational museum activities.
In the past, it was used as a lightship, among other things as a floating lighthouse in a fixed position at anchor and gave other vessels guidance at sea. She has been moored in the Old Port since 1967. This makes her the ship with the longest mooring time on site.
Wolfgang Theisen, Managing Director of Rupertus-Strako GmbH, says the following about the project: "We refurbish 150 to 180 ships a year. TV-famous cruise ships as well as frigates and container ships. The ELBE 3 was an exceptional order for us. Having a ship in the shipyard that was built during the German Empire and is part of Germany's maritime cultural heritage is something special for us too. We are delighted that we were able to bring the refurbishment to a successful conclusion together with all those involved."
