The future of an historic ship at Liverpool’s waterfront hangs in the balance and could be deconstructed if a new owner isn’t found in the coming weeks.
For the past few months National Museums Liverpool (NML) has been running a feasibility study on what to do with the 1917-built schooner, De Wadden, currently in place at Canning Dock. De Wadden is one of only three surviving Irish Sea schooners and the last trading sailing ship to use the port of Liverpool, but the museum has been exploring its future due to the costs of its preservation.
When announcing the study in summer, NML revelled two options for De Wadden: to dispose of the ship, either by inviting other museums to re-home it, or - if no offers are forthcoming - to break it up; or moving the ship to another location and in the longer term allowing public access after major investment.
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Providing an update on the study, NML has now said that offers for the ship will be heard until 5 February. If no feasible offers are made then the museum will begin the process of deconstruction the vessel later on in the year.
NML says a small number of initial expressions of interest have been received. But so far no offers to transfer the vessel have been accepted, with the cut off date now only a few weeks away.
Speaking about the ongoing process to help find the historic ship a new home, Ian Murphy, head of the Maritime Museum, said he doesn’t want to “prejudge the outcome” despite time running out.
He told the ECHO: "I’m trying not to judge what the outcome might be. The whole point of doing the process is to see if there is viable transfer
“We are doing everything we can to preserve it. And if it had to be deconstructed, we would make sure we were preserving the history of the ship.”
Ian added that it would be a “disappointment” if the ship were to be deconstructed, but reiterated that all possible avenues are being explored.
The boat was bought by the Merseyside Maritime Museum in 1984, and since 1987 has been dry-docked for conservation and restoration work to be carried out. The focus on De Wadden is part of the wider £20m Waterfront Transformation project, which will create new public spaces around Canning Dock aimed at revitalising the waterfront and give people fresh understanding of Liverpool's maritime history.
Laura Pye, director of National Museums Liverpool, added: Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool: “We have approached the work around De Wadden in a methodical and systematic way, led by our own disposal policy and the guidance of others such as Museums Association and National Historic Ships.
“Museum disposal can be a difficult and even emotive subject, but it’s also an essential part of healthy collection management and we have found it useful in so many ways to be transparent and open to dialogue about this process.
“We have had many valuable conversations with colleagues within the museum and heritage sector, as well as the passionate local maritime history community. This work has helped us not only refine our priorities around De Wadden, but also given us lots to consider and look forward to as we consider the variety of new and engaging ways we might share and celebrate Liverpool’s maritime heritage.”
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