Europe; Sweden
September 12, 1745, the Gothenburg, a ship belonging to the Swedish East India Company, was nearing the end of a 30-month journey with goods from China to its home port, the city after which it got its name.
Within sight of the quay where it was to be tied, it struck a well-known rock, Knipla Boro. All the sailors fled with their lives and much of the cargo of porcelain, silk and spices was saved. However, the ship remained stuck on the rock and took years to disintegrate and disappear under the waves.
After divers dug the wreck in the 1980s, a copy of Gothenburg was built. Next year crafts, which is claimed to be the world’s largest operational wooden vessel, will sail for the second time from the Swedish capital Stockholm to Shanghai in China.
August Jansson, the ship’s captain, told CGTN: “My colleagues who visited China last time, they received a very warm welcome and I hope we get the same thing when we arrive.”
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The seven-month journey takes it via London, Lisbon, Palma de Mallorca, Piraeus (Athens), Alexandria, Djibouti, Muscat, Chennai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong before arriving in Shanghai in October 2022.
The trip is designed to showcase Swedish business and culture and strengthen and develop business opportunities and relationships for companies in both Sweden and the countries visited. It is also intended to promote sustainable solutions to some of the world’s challenges.
It made a similar trip to Asia more than 15 years ago, but it is the first time in six years that it sails.
“It has been more than 15 years since Gothenburg last sailed to Asia, 2005-2007, and we are extremely happy to see her sail again,” says Peter Alexandersson, CEO of SOIC Ship Management, the company that runs Gothenburg. A lot of work has been done during the last two years to make the ship ready to sail again. “
And without a doubt they will stay well away from Knipla Boro.
Cover image: Gothenburg, in front of the old town and the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden.
/ Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP
Source: sn.dk