Suriname-Rivier

Historic lighthouse vessel

History
Suriname-Rivier in Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Museum in 2014
Netherlands
Name	Suriname-Rivier
Ordered	Ministry of the Colonies
Builder	Conrad shipyard, Haarlem
Launched	1910
In service	1911
Out of service	1968 [1972]
Homeport	Paramaribo
Identification	ARLHS SUR-004M
Status	Museum ship
General characteristics ^[1]
Type	Lightship
Tonnage	102.7 GRT
Length	24.85 m (81 ft 6 in) o/a
Beam	6.83 m (22 ft 5 in)
Depth	2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	none

Suriname-Rivier is a lightvessel permanently berthed in a wet dock in the Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Open-Air Museum in Nieuw-Amsterdam, Commewijne, Suriname.^[2]

The lightvessel was constructed by the Conrad shipyard in Haarlem, the Netherlands, for the Ministry of the Colonies of the Netherlands. It was launched in 1910 and, not being equipped with engines, was sailed to Suriname by Captain Johannes Franciscus Wijsmuller (1876–1923) in 1911.^[3]

It was used to mark the mouth of the Suriname River.

The ship was replaced in 1968, decommissioned in 1972, and transferred to the Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Open-Air Museum. Attempts to put the ship behind the local dikes at high tide resulted in a partial flooding of the village of Nieuw-Amsterdam.^[4]

By 2017, the lightvessel was in serious disrepair and in danger of being lost. At that time, the efforts of a Dutch foundation to raise money for restoring the ship had been unsuccessful.^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suriname-Rivier (ship, 1910).

^ "Lightship FEHMARNBELT". feuerschiffseite.de. 2010. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Suriname". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Dutch lightship is rusting away in Suriname" (in Dutch). telegraaf.nl. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
^ "Mijndomein".