The Gothenburg (Swedish: Ostindiefararen G?theborg?) is a large antique wooden ship. Its name comes from the ship of the same name 260 years ago. On September 12, 1745, when the Gothenburg completed its third voyage to Asia and was about to arrive at its home port, the Port of Gothenburg, it suddenly hit the rocks and sank. All the crew members survived, but the ship and all the cargo on it were destroyed. Sunk in the depths of the sea. The reconstruction of the New Gothenburg began in 1995. It was launched on June 6, 2003, set off on October 2, 2005, and followed the footsteps of its ancestors, arriving in Guangzhou on July 18, 2006.

Salvaging the sunken ship

Although the Gothenburg has been sleeping in the sea for more than 200 years, the Swedes have almost never given up on salvaging her "treasure". From 1906 to 1907, two ocean explorers, James Keller and Carl Lyon, salvaged the Old Gothenburg and successfully brought 3,000 intact pieces of Chinese porcelain out of the sea. In a folk archaeological activity in 1984, the Swedes finally discovered the wreckage of the Gothenburg, which had been sleeping on the seabed for two and a half centuries. [1] Since then, the archaeological excavation of the Gothenburg has been in full swing

Rebuilding a new ship

In 1995, on an empty dock, the project to rebuild the Gothenburg quietly began. Since the original design drawings no longer exist, today's Gothenburg city was designed based on the wreckage of the ancient city ship and some written records, as well as the research results of Swedish shipbuilding and navigation history, and other similar ancient sailing materials. [2] There are about 100 to 150 people participating in the construction of Gothenburg, of which about 80 are volunteers who do not receive any compensation. In order to imitate the manufacturing process of the old Gothenburg, the entire ship was made by hand.

New ship data

* Length: 40.9 meters

* Total length including bowsprit: 58.5 meters

* Keel: 11 Meters

* Mainsail area: 1900 square meters

* Stern length: 5.25 meters

* Bow length: 4.75 meters

* Ballast: 400 tons

* Displacement: 1150 tons

* Engine: Two Volvo 2x22 kWh engines with a combined output of 1100 hp (820 kW)

< p>* Average speed: 5~6 knots (9 to 11 kilometers/hour), when the engine outputs maximum power, the speed can reach 8 knots (15 kilometers/hour)

* Crew: 80 people , 30 of them are officially employed by the Swedish East Asia Trading Company, and the remaining 50 are volunteers: most of the volunteers are volunteers recruited from the whole Swedish society, and a group is replaced for each voyage; another 2 to 4 people are about to arrive. National Volunteers.

* Food stock: enough to feed 80 people for 60 days

* Navigation and communication equipment: GPS, radar, Satcom B

* Salute: 14 guns

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The Gothenburg was originally scheduled to set sail on October 1, 2005, but unfortunately there was heavy rain that day, so it was postponed for one day. At 13:30 on October 2, 2005, the Gothenburg left its hometown, followed the path of the old Gothenburg, headed for the mysterious East, and arrived at Guangzhou, the end point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.