The stern of replica Prins Willem |
|
| Career (Dutch Republic) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Prins Willem |
| Owner: | Dutch East India Company |
| Launched: | 1649 |
| Fate: | Sank, 1662 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 700 tons |
| Length: | 42 m (137 ft 10 in) |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Armament: | 32 guns |
The Prins Willem (or Prins Willim) was the largest ship at the time of the Dutch East India Company (the VOC).
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The ship Prins Willim was built in 1649 in Middelburg in the Netherlands and sank near Madagaskar in 1662.
Curiously, the name on the ship was Prins Willim. Two possible reasons have been advanced:
The ship was the flagship of Witte de With in the Battle of the Kentish Knock during the First Anglo-Dutch War.
A replica with the same name was built in 1984-85 at the Dutch shipyard Amels in Makkum for the Oranda Mura ("Holland Village") theme park in Nagasaki, Japan.
In 2004, the replica became part of the theme park Cape Holland in Den Helder, the Netherlands.
In 2009, the bowsprit of the Prins Willim replica was being restored.
On the morning of 30 July 2009, the replica was lost to fire, probably due to an electric malfunction. The owner of the ship, the Libéma company, was to decide on a restoration.[1]