I can't help it. I had to go and have a look at the Grand Dame again.

I also found a site with amazing foottage of Holland Amerika Lijn. It's in Dutch but I'm sure you'll like it.

No need for self-control here. After all those horrible photos of the Norway on the beach at Alang, I think we can use quite a bit more photographic excess from Rotterdam.

Keep on posting.

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Originally posted by Aad:

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Aad beautiful picture i see you not waited and went to Katendrecht. Roger found here very easy to photograph. he said whatever angle you shot here she always look fantastic. We both agreed.....

For the Dutch, enjoy your proudest maritime acheivement.

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Originally posted by Jekyll:
After looking at all these pics, I just realized she has no lifeboats on her - she looks fabulous and streamlined without them - however, I know they are a necessary evil

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Originally posted by Cunard Fan:
She looks beautiful without boats but there is a part of me that wants them to put them back. I love walking along the deck under a canopy of boats, like on Queen Mary's sundeck, one of my favorite places in the world.

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They will return a/b the Rotterdam. They where removed fore restauration just as tenders. The owners said it on the many interviews given on Monday whene she returned to Rotterdam.

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Originally posted by Redlinekid2:
I am glad that the people of Holland rallied together to have this ship saved from Alang when the ship was retired in 2000.

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Now most people are giving credit to the Dutch people, but they forget thet the authorities did not want to have the ship back.
Now, when the Rotterdam was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas, some very enthousiast people came together, formed the Steamship Rotterdam Foundation and lobbied around to find companies who were willing to invest in a (as she looked) rustbucket.
Those people (in alphabetical sequence) were:
Leon Beesemer
Jan-Willem Koene
Ronald Kole
Klaas Krijnen
Willem van der Leek (volunteer and in 2003 asked to replace Remco van Mourik in the board.)
Remco van Mourik
Co Spruit (volunteer).

After long talks, they found a listening ear at Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen, CEO of the Rotterdam Drydock Company. He was willing to buy the ship, financed with a loan, for which a guarantee was signed by Willem Scholten, director of Rotterdam Port Authority. Date of purchase was 1 May 2003.
In 2004 it was decided that the ship would be towed to Gibraltar for asbestos sanitising and refurbishment. The ship arrived on 12 July 2004.
Meanwhile negotiations were going on with the municipality of Rotterdam for a new berth. It was known it could not be at the Cruise Terminal, but we all liked to have the ship at the other side of Wilhelminakade, in the Rijnhaven. In fact around 25 places were looked at and finally the entrance of the Maashaven was chosen.
At the end of 2004, RDM went broke and HCO2 (who was going to exploit the hotel), investigated if they could buy the ship. However, the cost for asbestos removal seemed to much for that company and they quit. In June 2005, Woonbron (a housingcompany) and Eurobalance (an investmentcompany) bought the ship and founded a subsidiary named 'De Rotterdam BV'.
The ship went to Cadiz, Gdansk and Wilhelmshaven and as the investments now are almost 10 times over budget, they decided to finish the job in Rotterdam.
That's why the s.s. Rotterdam came home without her davits, lifeboats and still without any furniture on board.
The next three months they hope to get the ship finished and to be open to the public in November 2008.

When you have read this carefully, you will have to agree, that without the very enthousiast people of the Steamship Rotterdam Foundation and Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen and Willem Scholten (both are now charged for fraude), there would be no s.s. Rotterdam in Rotterdam.
She would have been scrapped by now.

And not forget the € 175.000.000 invest by the new owners. Other wise without theme Rotterdam Port Authority would have sale the Rotterdam to Indian/Pakistani scrap yards!

[ 08-11-2008: Message edited by: Maasdam ]

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Originally posted by Maasdam:
And the many many ordinairy people who supported the foundation with there money. Other wise the whole foundation was not able to do there good job.

And not forget the € 175.000.000 invest by the new owners. Other wise without theme Rotterdam Port Authority would have sale the Rotterdam to Indian/Pakistani scrap yards!

[ 08-11-2008: Message edited by: Maasdam ]

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Ben,

I know very well the support by the donators.

I just told how it all started.

But . . . you must agree with me that without the boardmembers of the foundation, Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen and Willem Scholten, the s.s. Rotterdam would have been scrapped at the beaches of Alang.

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Originally posted by Willem:

Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen and Willem Scholten (both are now charged for fraude)

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Originally posted by Lubber:

???

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Originally posted by Maasdam:


[IMG]
Greetings Ben.

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Originally posted by Willem:

Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen financed the purchase of the ship with a loan which was guaranteed by Rotterdam Port Authority. Mr. Scholten was not authorised to do so.

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Originally posted by Willem:

Ben,

I know very well the support by the donators.

I just told how it all started.

But . . . you must agree with me that without the boardmembers of the foundation, Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen and Willem Scholten, the s.s. Rotterdam would have been scrapped at the beaches of Alang.

When Premier Cruises went broke, there were some plans to bring the ship to Rotterdam, but they were all turned down on financial reasons.

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And to think if there was an SS Nieuw Amsterdam Foundation, established in 1968, that ship(before it was retired in 1974) might still be around today in Rotterdam or Amsterdam.

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Originally posted by Redlinekid2:
In the first picture, I see that the upper pole of the mast is being worked on. Are the workers replacing the pole with the original that was found in Alaska?

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In Cadiz they made a copy of the masttop and placed that on the ship.
The original is now on display in the Info-centre and when the ship is open for the public, it will be on display on the quay near the entrancebuildings.

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Originally posted by Redlinekid2:

I am certainly glad that they did. Sometimes, personal passion can benefit everybody in the long term development of the image of the City of Rotterdam. More important, they held on to the ship long enough for someone with the funds to actually buy and renovate the vessel. Otherwise, the ship would have ended up in Alang, like the SS Norway.

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I agree. I won't take an ethical position on the loan's endorsement from an unauthorized signatory at the port authority-- two people were so vested in the project that they were willing to stick their necks out for it-- but it does raise a red flag about the solvency of the project, since they apparently couldn't get a qualified signatory to sign off on the loan.

However, if the worst happens and the loan is nullified, at least the ship itself is still spared from a voyage to Alang, and right now that's what really matters. (Whew.)

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Originally posted by Lubber:

I agree. I won't take an ethical position on the loan's endorsement from an unauthorized signatory at the port authority-- two people were so vested in the project that they were willing to stick their necks out for it-- but it does raise a red flag about the solvency of the project, since they apparently couldn't get a qualified signatory to sign off on the loan.

However, if the worst happens and the loan is nullified, at least the ship itself is still spared from a voyage to Alang, and right now that's what really matters. (Whew.)

If this works, this is a business I hope to patronize in some way the next time the missus and I get a chance to plan a trip to Europe. Let's make this work!

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