Koninklijke Saan B.V. logistics partner for transport of Royal Barge
Wednesday 7 October the Royal Barge was successfully installed in the boathouse specially designed for him by DOK Architects.
The action took place at the Marine Etablissement in Amsterdam, and Koninklijke Saan B.V. provided the transportation logistics, just as they did for the renovation and reopening of Het Scheepvaartmuseum (the National Maritime Museum).
This was an extremely delicate task, one that even required its own escort by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee's motor brigade. On Monday 5 October, the Royal Barge was carefully packed by professionals for the multi-stage journey from Hoogwoud in the north of the Netherlands to her new home port in Amsterdam.
nothing left to chance
The transportation of the Royal Barge had to follow a strict schedule carefully arranged around a number of major factors, including the weather. After installing a special support underneath the vessel, the barge was driven out of the warehouse in Hoogwoud and hoisted onto a trailer on which she was then transported to Diemen, just outside Amsterdam. There she spent the night in the Saan warehouse. The weather proved to be on Saan's side, and so with relatively dry weather and little wind on 7 October, the Royal Barge was moved from the warehouse to the Marine Etablissement in Amsterdam, where she was hoisted into the boathouse.
Then, the entire boathouse was 'bumped' over to the jetty at Het Scheepvaartmuseum, where the final installation steps will be carried out in time for the grand opening on 15 October, when the public will finally be able to view the Royal Barge in all its glory.
the value of the partnership between Koninklijke Saan B.V. and Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Koninklijke Saan has been a preferred supplier to Het Scheepvaartmuseum since the 1980s, and has at various times been a close partner in the transportation of the museum's invaluable collection of historic charts, paintings, and ship models.
One of the finest hours of this partnership was when Koninklijke Saan originally transported the Royal Barge out of the museum for Het Scheepvaartmuseum's four-year renovation. The barge was the last piece to leave the museum, on 11 July 2008. Because of her size, she could only be lifted out of the building after a sizeable opening had been cut through the walls.
the Royal Barge and the boathouse
After an eight-year absence, the Royal Barge will once again be on display in Het Scheepvaartmuseum starting on 15 October 2015.
She will be exhibited on the museum's jetty, just opposite the East Indiaman Amsterdam, in a unique interactive exhibit in the boathouse specially designed by Liesbeth van der Pol, formerly chief government architect and the architect responsible for both the spectacularly renovated museum and the museum's depot.
about Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Het Scheepvaartmuseum (the National Maritime Museum) tells the story of how the sea has defined Dutch culture. Visitors follow their own paths through twelve exciting and interactive exhibitions to discover 500 years of maritime history. Highlights of world-class collections are displayed in unforgettable exhibitions. A few of the exhibitions (like 'The tale of the whale' and 'Life on board') are specially designed for families.
The museum draws approximately 330,000 visitors per year, putting it among the top ten Amsterdam museums and making it a major attraction for both domestic and foreign tourism.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum is located in 's Lands Zeemagazijn, an historic Golden Age building dating from 1656. For more information, visit hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl
about Koninklijke Saan
Koninklijke Saan has 118 years of experience in removals, industrial relocations, and crane rental. This family-run company's roots are in nearby Diemen, but it has close ties to Amsterdam, and Het Scheepvaartmuseum is proud to be one of Saan's major clients in the capital. Since its founding in 1897, Koninklijke Saan has grown from a delivery service to a professional and forward-looking organization, but it still remains a family-run business. Saan delivers a very broad range of services to all its clients, from small to large and from simple to incredibly complex.
Moving objects for Het Scheepvaartmuseum is always a unique challenge because of the extraordinary nature and value of the objects in the museum's collection, with the transport of the Royal Barge being perhaps the most extraordinary of all.
