(With extra pictures) SWZ Maritime's editors were invited to come on board the George Stephenson to experience this remarkable vessel for themselves.

The keel for the George Stephenson was laid in 2006 but it took until early 2014 for the ship to be completed as it is now. Owner Faas Strik continues to further perfrect it. Although the historic ship is in fact new, its interior and exterior consist of all kinds of historic treasures. Some examples:

• The cabin has a radiator that dates back to 1920 and which stems from a French fishing vessel.
• The wooden floors come from an English passenger vessel that was scrapped in 1935 in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, the Netherlands.
• The timber on the walls come from the doors of the former Defence department building in Paris.
• The solid wood interior doors stem from the ships the Kenya Castle and Windsor Castle of the Union-Castle Line and the Norway.
• The round door knobs were acquired from the US navy and twist both ways for safety reasons.
• The ship's sanitary fitting, such as the sink and toilet, are originals of the English inventor Thomas Crapper (1836-1910).
• The bronze anchor chain stems from an English mine sweeper of the HAM class from 1952.
• The steel bow anchor was acquired from the British navy.
• The steam whistle come from a steam tug from New York.
• The teak decks come from a school building that was built in 1888 in Bombay.
• There is no new wood on board this ship.

Two Engine Rooms

Yet, it is not just the historic treasures that make this ship special. The ship also features two engine rooms. One with a Crabtree-Compound steam engine with Jotem water treatment system (stemming from an English mine sweeper of the HAM class) and one with an eight cylinder Gardner diesel engine, built in 1976.

Read more about the George Stephenson in SWZ Maritime's September issue (available online for subscribers and KNVTS/Nautilus members).

Editor Gerrit de Boer took the pictures you find in the album below. Please click the pop-out link (the little squares at the bottom right) to view them in their proper dimensions.