Refurbishment: "Gorch Fock" floats again

Erecting masts, coating the hull, installing the shaft system, repairing the engine: The "Gorch Fock" is currently being refurbished at the Lürssen site in Berne. The work is now nearing completion. The ship was successfully relaunched today.

The Bremen-based family company Lürssen took over the repair of the sail training ship in October 2019 and plans to hand it over to the German Navy at the end of May.

"When we return ships to their element, it's always a moving moment. In the case of the 'Gorch Fock', the joy is particularly great. Countless sailors have learnt their trade from scratch on this traditional sailing ship. The ship was and is the flagship of our navy, the radiance of this sailing ship has an impact far beyond the navy," said Tim Wagner, Managing Director of the Lürssen shipyard.

From the very beginning, the shipyard management was aware that the work on the barque was "a project under very difficult circumstances". Wagner: "Due to partly incomplete construction documents, we had to make numerous changes to the shipbuilding work. Considerable effort was also required to coordinate the suppliers involved in the project, as a previous construction stop lasting several months due to the insolvency of the previous contractor was basically equivalent to starting the project from scratch."

The successful launch today is therefore, Wagner continues, "something special and the result of a trusting and constructive collaboration with all departments and representatives of the customer. Our thanks naturally also go to all of our employees, whose dedicated efforts made it possible to meet this deadline despite the adversities caused by the coronavirus".

Following the "launching" via the shipyard's own synchrolift, tugs moved the "Gorch Fock" to the Lürssen site in Lemwerder. The final outfitting - including the further installation of the interior fittings - and commissioning will take place at the pier there in the coming weeks.