''Suriname-Rivier'' is a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

permanently berthed in a wet dock in the Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Open-Air Museum in Nieuw-Amsterdam, Commewijne,

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. The lightvessel was constructed by the Conrad shipyard in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, for the Ministry of the Colonies of the Netherlands. It was launched in 1910 and, not being equipped with engines, was sailed to Suriname by Captain Johannes Franciscus Wijsmuller (1876–1923) in 1911. It was used to mark the mouth of the

Suriname River The Suriname River ( Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is long and flows through the country of Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it is kn ...

. The ship was replaced in 1968, decommissioned in 1972, and transferred to the Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Open-Air Museum. Attempts to put the ship behind the local dikes at high tide resulted in a partial flooding of the village of Nieuw-Amsterdam. By 2017, the lightvessel was in serious disrepair and in danger of being lost. At that time, the efforts of a Dutch foundation to raise money for restoring the ship had been unsuccessful.

References

{{Authority control Lightships Ships preserved in museums 1910 ships Ships built in the Netherlands Lighthouses in Suriname

See also

References