An item in the newspaper Goessche Courant dated Tuesday 19 June 1877 reported that in the night of last Thursday the minister of Navy (1) arrived at Flushing on board of the steam transport schooner Zeemeeuw companied by the chief inspector for the pilotage jhr. [H.P.] De Kock. They intended to investigate the condition of the coast light and the buoyage. Afterwards visited the minister with the inspector of the pilotage Mr. Kleinheus the shipyard of De Schelde where he ordered the building of a large iron keel lighter to be used at the naval shipyard at Hellevoetsluis.(2) In the afternoon he returned backwards to The Hague. The newspaper Zierikzeesche Courant dated 20 June confirmed this item.
The newspaper Vlissingse Courant dated Thursday 19 July reported that next Saturday afternoon the steam transport schooner Schelde was to be launched and immediately afterwards the keel for the lighter would be laid down.
The edition dated Thursday 21 February 1878 of the last newspaper reported that she was launched successfully that day. Her dimensions were 70 x 27 feet .
The morning edition of newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad 23 October 1890 described the unsuccessful experiments done by the navy at Hellevoetsluis with a blockship in the fairway. She was deliberately scuttled to a depth of one metre below the water level. However when they tried to salvage it a week earlier by removing the ballast stayed the ship where it was probably filled with sand caused by the water flow. A new effort was to be done using the keel lighter. What the results were of this second effort is not reported in the newspaper.
The edition of the newspaper Goesche Courant dated Thursday 24 September 1903 reported that in the morning of the day before a serious incident take place in which a keel lighter was involved. If it was the one built by the De Schelde is not reported. When employers were replacing the lock doors of the wet dock at the naval yard at Hellevoetsluis broke two hooks of the pulleys and hoists of the loading tree broke causing collapsing of the loading tree and tumbling down of a door hitting three men of which one was killed and another seriously wounded. The evening edition of the newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad dated 23 September reported that the work was done under supervision of H. van Leeuwen when the incident happened. P. van Rosenberg (age 56) was hit by the loading tree on his chest and died immediately, J. Dangerman was seriously wounded at head and arms while G. v. Beek although during some hours unconscious seemed to be unharmed.
In the order administration of shipyard De Schelde she received as building number 5. Her building was ordered on 29 June 1877, the keel laid down on 1 August, ‘in the ship trusses’ on 1 September, she received on 20 October her plating and after eight months was she on 20 February 1878 launched. After a building period of 8 months was she on 9 March that year delivered to the navy. The building was not profitable for the yard. The contracted costs were ƒ 18.000,00 without yards and rigging, the building costs were ƒ 82,00 more. Her builders were engineer J. Janszen junior and boss L. Leeuwenburg. With a displacement of 38 cubic metres were her dimensions 20 x 8 x 2 (hold) metres or 70’0” x 27’0”.
In the archive of the Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde 1875-1970 (blockno. 214) inventory 6 are of the reports of the meetings of the shareholders and commissaries preserved but which supplied none new details. Neither did the annual accounts over 1877 and 1877 (inventory no.1).
The newspapers are accessible via http://www.krantenbankzeeland.nl/and http://kranten.kb.nl/
Notes
1. This must be Willem Fredrik van Erp Taalman Kip (19 December 1824 The Hague-The Hague 16 March 1905), navy officer, inspector for the pilotage in the Dutch East Indies and minister of navy between 1874-1877, 1879-1885.
2. The decision to close this shipyard was taken in 1929.
