Gothenburg, 15 March 2022 – The ship Götheborg of Sweden today announced the second port stop of its two-year long Asia Expedition 2022/2023. In June, right in time for Midsummer, the ship is coming to Finland and Helsinki. The ship will be in Helsinki 23–27 June 2022, and will be moored at Makasiini Quay, right at the heart of the city.
Götheborg of Sweden is the world’s largest active, ocean-going, wooden sailing ship and a unique replica of an 18th century Swedish East India Company ship that sank outside of Gothenburg in 1745. Today, the ship is used as a unique platform to promote trade relations and solutions for a sustainable future.
Götheborg of Sweden has been in Helsinki twice before; in June 2008 and in July 2013.
“ We’ve seen great interest in the ship from the citizens of Helsinki on the two previous occasions that we have been there, and are very happy to announce that we are returning in summer 2022”, said Kristoffer Bennis, Expedition Director at Götheborg of Sweden. “Heading to Asia via the Baltic Sea is not the obvious route, but when we extended the expedition from one to two years, we did that to meet the great interest that we saw during our expedition to Stockholm in 2021.“
The ship will be moored at the heart of Helsinki, Makasiini Quay in South Harbour, right next to the Market Hall, and will be open to the public during its stay in Helsinki.
” The sailing ship Götheborg will be a welcome addition to Helsinki this summer, as tourist season begins in earnest in our maritime city”, said Nina Vesterinen, Tourism Director for the City of Helsinki. “ The ship’s theme for the year is sustainability, a matter of paramount importance in the tourism sector, and Helsinki is ambitiously setting out to be the world’s most sustainable tourism destination.”
As Helsinki is announced as the second stopover on the Asia Expedition 2022/2023, the possibility to apply to sail along as a deckhand on board on the second sailing leg, from the Swedish city of Helsingborg to Helsinki, is also opened up. To sail the ship, a crew of 70 people is needed. About 20 persons are professional crew. The other 50 are deckhands, who are members of the public that sail along for the adventure, experience and opportunity to learn how to sail an 18th century ship.
Götheborg will leave Helsingborg in the south of Sweden on the 17th of June and arrive in Helsinki on the 23rd of June. The sailing leg will include sailing in the light Nordic midsummer nights and through the beautiful Archipelago Sea on the way to Helsinki.
Asia Expedition 2022/2023
Götheborg will depart from Gothenburg 8 June 2022, and arrive in Shanghai in September 2023. The ship will sail the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe, before it continues to the Mediterranean. During winter 2022/2023 the ship will remain in the Mediterranean. It will sail to Asia in spring 2023. The mission for the Asia Expedition is to promote trade relations and use the ship as a unique platform for businesses and partners, and to promote solutions for a sustainable future.
Short facts: The ship Götheborg – history
Götheborg is a full-sized replica of an 18th century ship, that was owned by the Swedish East India Company, and that ran aground and sank outside of Gothenburg in 1745. In 1984 marine excavation of the original ship Götheborg was initiated and in 1995 the building of a new Götheborg was started. Eight years later, in 2003, the ship was launched, and between 2005-2007 the ship sailed the historical route to Asia and back. After that several expeditions around Europe were carried out, the latest one in 2015. In 2021 the ship sailed from Gothenburg to Stockholm and back.