NATIONAL Museums Liverpool’s scrapping of TS De Wadden, Merseyside’s last commercial tall ship, goes against the purpose of NML as our maritime history is the sole reason for the city’s existence. Breaking up this unique physical object must be halted now as it is our equivalent of London’s historic tea clipper Cutty Sark.
Why when we have a very impressive and comprehensive International Slavery Museum is it
necessary to destroy De Wadden to make way for a Reflection Room about the transatlantic trade. Surely the natural home for this is in the ISM?
While the acknowledging Liverpool’s iniquitous transatlantic trade in slavery is a very important part of the city’s narrative, it is a sub-section of the bigger picture of our maritime history which must not be sacrificed for the former.
Of course, De Wadden was not a slave ship, but not only is she the last physical representative of the Mersey’s countless sailing vessels on which our wealth is based, she’s also an important educational visual aid as many of the slave ships were a similar size.
Does replacing De Wadden with the Reflection Room not amount to misuse of an historic dock and confusion about its purpose? What about disabled access and health and safety issues in reaching the bottom of a deep dock not intended for public use?
As a Liverpool city guide of many years standing I can assure you that a restored De Wadden would be a hugely appealing attraction for the thousands of tourists visiting the Pier Head (especially those from cruise liners) in what is otherwise a modern, bland location.
After working for the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo for nearly 20 years and as Maritime
Correspondent for much of that time I have a good idea about the depth of people’s feeling on this matter. Although De Wadden, acquired in 1987, has been left derelict for 20 years by NML, I know in my current role as a professional fundraiser there will be grants and individuals to help restore the ship.
What is also of profound worry is that Liverpool, once the world’s greatest seaport has practically no historic ships berthed in its historic docks. Meanwhile, our former maritime rivals Bristol, Belfast, Newcastle and Glasgow have an incredible collection between them, including the world’s first ocean liner SS Great Britain, motorship Balmoral, WWI cruiser HMS Caroline, White Star Line’s tender Nomadic, the first turbine steamer Turbinia, paddle steamer Waverley, excursion steamer Queen Mary and the tall ship Glenlee.
New York has the great Liverpool sailing ship Wavertree and unbelievably Gloucester has our Mersey Bar Lightvessel Planet and our former resident schooner Kathleen and May!
The world-famous tea clipper Cutty Sark at Greenwich was almost destroyed by fire, but being in London, of course, miraculously rose from the ashes (at a cost of £35m!) and is an incredible tribute to preserving our seafaring heritage in a highly imaginative way as she rides a geodesic glass sea.
TS De Wadden could be Liverpool’s Cutty Sark with enough care and attention, so why scrap her? Why don’t we follow Cutty Sark’s example and create a breath-taking maritime attraction instead of going for the easy option of destroying this irreplaceable ship?
Laura Pye, NML Director, in reply to my query, wrote: “All options were considered separately to the redevelopment of Canning Dock, and I think it’s important to note that the decision to deaccession the vessel (De Wadden) has been taken independently of the development of the design for Canning Dock. These two areas of work are being delivered by different teams and each being developed on their own terms.
“By early 2023 it was clear there was no other suitable or viable options for the vessel (De
Wadden) and approval was given to the group’s recommendation to follow a programme set out by National Historic Ships for the responsible recording and disposal of ships.”
Neither Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region (whose office overlooks De Wadden), Angie Redhead, City Assets Manager (ex-Liverpool Cruise Terminal Manager), nor Claire McColgan, Liverpool Council Director of Culture, replied to the two emails sent to each of them about De Wadden’s scrapping.
Jim Graves, MAST (Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust) Chair and Founder, said: “Breaking up De Wadden is an abomination and an insult to Merseyside’s heritage in general and all the seafarers who crewed these sailing ships in particular.
“It is incredible that NML, the very organisation trusted with De Wadden’s preservation, can let her fall into such a derelict state that scrapping is regarded as the only option, with no positive alternative offered.
“Nobody at NML seems remotely interested in Liverpool’s seafaring history, which is the cornerstone of our very being. At MAST we’re trying to educate young people about sailing and instead
of De Wadden being the visible jewel in our crown, we’ll be left we nothing for those youngsters to see.
“It’s very telling that London will spend £35m on restoring Cutty Sark after a huge fire, but Liverpool will only spend money on scrapping De Wadden.”
So after 35 years, De Wadden’s ultimate fate is to be just another statistic in the long list of failed Mersey ship preservation projects.