VOC ship replica Batavia makes final water voyage to Amsterdam shipyard

Final journey across the water

On Saturday morning, 19 September 2026, the replica 17th-century Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship Batavia began its final journey on water. Departing its berth in Lelystad around 7:00 AM, the vessel was guided by two tugboats toward Amsterdam. Shortly after midday, the ship passed through the Oranjesluizen locks at Schellingwoude before reaching the Damen Shiprepair yard in Amsterdam-Noord. The vessel measures between 56 and 60 meters in length according to source reports. The transfer ends more than three decades of afloat exhibition, as severe wood rot in the hull prevents the wooden vessel from remaining permanently in the water.

Dry dock installation and museum plans

At the Amsterdam shipyard, workers will place the ship onto a custom steel cradle structure designed to support its hull out of the water. Early next month, the ship and its cradle are scheduled to be loaded together onto a pontoon and transported back across the water to Lelystad. Once returned, the Batavia will be positioned on the quay adjacent to the Batavia Stad outlet center, near its previous mooring. The ship will become a centerpiece for Museum Batavialand, which is scheduled to reopen to visitors in late 2028.

Construction and cultural history

The reconstruction project was conceived in 1985 by master shipbuilder Willem Vos as an employment and training initiative. Because original 17th-century blueprints did not exist, and the original Batavia sank off the Australian coast on its maiden voyage, Vos designed the replica using documentation from other period vessels. Queen Beatrix christened the ship in Lelystad in 1995, ten years after construction began, and the vessel participated in Sail Amsterdam that same year. Over the subsequent decades, the ship drew an estimated 5 million visitors to Lelystad.

The vessel also travelled internationally, sailing to Sydney in 1999 ahead of the 2000 Olympic Games. That Australian expedition required financial assistance from the municipality of Lelystad and the province of Flevoland after funds ran short for the return passage. Later, the ship served as a filming location for Dutch feature films, including De Scheepsjongens van Bontekoe in 2007 and Michiel de Ruyter in 2015 on the Markermeer. During filming for Michiel de Ruyter, lead actor Frank Lammers reflected on the opportunity to work aboard the vessel.

Who gets to just play naval battle with these kinds of ships?

Preservation challenges

In recent years, the physical condition of the wooden vessel deteriorated significantly due to wood rot. Master shipbuilder Vos had suggested several years ago that the structure was in such poor condition that leaving it to decay might be an appropriate outcome.

As befits a shipwreck. I would like to give the ship a final resting place, on the Marker Wadden for example.

Instead of allowing the vessel to break down in open water, municipal and museum authorities opted to preserve the replica on land. The steel cradle will ensure the hull remains intact on the quay for public display once Museum Batavialand reopens in late 2028.