- De Wadden was built in 1917 and transported coal and food across the Irish Sea.
A ship that braved the terror of Nazi submarines to transport vital resources across Britain has been destroyed and will be replaced by a reflection room on slavery.
Maritime historians have condemned the decision, calling it an “abomination” in memory of the sailors who bravely manned the ship during World War II.
Built in 1917, the De Wadden transported coal and food across the Irish Sea to southern England between 1939 and 1945, while Hitler’s infamous submarines lurked beneath the waves.
Official records from the National Register of Historic Ships say: “Her prime was probably during the Second World War, when she was one of the few vessels providing the vital lifeline of supplies to the Republic of Ireland.”
Manned by a crew of just five and one child, her longest-serving captain was Victor Hall, who commanded her from 1933 to 1954.
The Second World War ship De Wadden, which transported resources via Nazi submarines across the Irish Sea to southern England, will be scrapped.
The historic ship will be replaced by a slavery reflection room as part of a redevelopment of Canning Dock in Liverpool.
Pictured: De Wadden in her heyday, sailing for almost 40 years between Liverpool and Ireland
But despite surviving the dangers of conflict and being the last cargo sailing ship the city can boast, National Museums Liverpool (NML) decided to scrap it earlier this year.
They did so after receiving a £10m grant from the Government to rebuild Canning Dock, where De Wadden was exposed to tourists for almost 40 years. Critics say the decision was made to allow a slavery reflection room to be built at the bottom of the dry dock where it had rested since 1987 to promote a politically correct agenda.
But the museum insisted on repairing the ship, which they estimated would cost £5 million, and maintaining it would have been too expensive.
Staff argue that funds from the Government’s £4.8bn Leveling Up fund are “ring-fenced for development” of the coastal area and could not have been spent on repairing De Wadden.
Maritime historian Peter Elson condemned the decision, calling it “political correctness or madness, gone mad.”
The author of The Great Mersey Shipping Lines said: “Why, when we have such an impressive and comprehensive International Slavery Museum so close by, does De Wadden need to be destroyed to make way for a Hall of Reflection on transatlantic trade?”
Elson and Jim Graves, chairman of the Merseyside Adventure Sailing Trust, want to know why the funds could not be used to restore De Wadden instead of building the slavery hall.
Graves said: “The dissolution of De Wadden is an abomination and an insult to Merseyside’s heritage in general and all the seafarers who crewed these sailing vessels in particular.”
De Wadden will be scrapped in March 2024. National Museums Liverpool insisted it would have been too expensive to repair and maintain the ship.
Pictured: A sign on Liverpool seafront with information about the three-masted auxiliary schooner. NML was accused of preserving it after purchasing it in 1984.
The bitter dispute is particularly intense because NML was originally charged with preserving the three-masted schooner after he purchased it in 1984.
Graves added: “It is incredible that NML, the very organization entrusted with the preservation of De Wadden, could let her fall into such a derelict state that they consider scrapping as the only option, without offering any positive alternative.”
Liverpool has long grappled with its slave trade history. According to NML, ships from the city’s docks transported more than 1.5 million slaves to the United States.
Ian Murphy, director of the Maritime Museum, NML, said: “The deconstruction of De Wadden is the final stage of a long period of careful research and consultation about the ship, its history and how to continue to tell its story realistically.”
“This has been a complex project during which it was important to be clear and honest about the reality of De Wadden’s condition and the significant cost to stabilize him, which would be ongoing.”