Local newspapers can supply a lot of interesting details dealing with merchant trade shipping and building. Details which for instance no longer can find in another way due to the fact the archives of the shipping companies and yards are missing, incomplete or not for (historical) research accessible. The yard De Industrie of the firm A.F. Smulders at Slikkerveer was specialized in building dredgers and floating cranes also for destinations abroad. In 1905 started the firm a new yard at Schiedam called Gusto.
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad daily edition 2 February 1904. Friday was at the yard of the firm A.F. Smulders at Slikkerveer the steel hull of a sand- and clay dredger launched for account of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez at Paris. Her main dimensions were 51 x 9 x 3,5 meter (hold) and her building was supervised by VERITAS Special Survey. She is classified in the class+I 3/3R.1,1 answering to the highest conditions. Completely electrical lightened. Her engines were built at her factory at Utrecht and her boilers by her boiler store at Grace-Berleur near Luik, Belgium. The newspaper Het nieuws van den dag: kleine courant daily edition dated 2 February 1904 supplied the same details.
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad daily edition dated 17 September 1904 mentioned that the large dredger Pharaon II master P. Helle departed yesterday Schiedam.
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad daily edition dated 1 October 1904 reported that she yesterday arrived safely at Algiers and to depart the next day [1 October].
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad daily edition dated 5 October 1904 reported that in the morning of 3 October arrived at Malta and intended to go immediately further.
Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad daily edition 12 October 1904 reported that she arrived the night before safely at Port Saïd.
Het nieuws van den dag: kleine courant daily edition dated 15 October 1904 reported that the at Slikkerveer built large dredger Pharaon II master Helle arrived safely at Port Saïd.
According to the website www.dredgepoint.org were her dimensions 51 (between perpendiculars) x 9 x 3,5 meter (depth), was she fitted out with 920kW engines and was the diameter of her suction pipe 0.625 meter.
