''Fortuyn'' (also spelled ''Fortuin'') was a ship owned by the Chamber of Amsterdam of the Dutch East India Company ( nl, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated to VOC) that was lost on its maiden voyage in 1723. It set sail for Batavia from Texel in the Netherlands on 27 September 1723. The ship reached the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

on 2 January 1724, and continued on its voyage on 18 January. ''Fortuyn'' was never seen again and its fate is a matter of speculation. It was approximately 800 tons with a carrying capacity of 280 tons and long. On its maiden voyage it was commanded by

Pieter Westrik Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

and had a crew of 225 men.

Location

Although VOC ships were not supposed to run within sight of the South Land (

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) at that time of the year, it may have inadvertently sailed too far east and been wrecked off the Western Australian coast. Wreckage sighted in the Houtman Abrolhos by survivors of in 1727, and by in 1840, could have been from ''Fortuyn'', or alternatively from , that disappeared in 1694, or less likely that disappeared in 1726. The Australian National Shipwreck Database records the ship as "possibly wrecked near Cocos Island".

Location

See also

References

Further reading