Friday, September 21, 2012

Dutch naval ship Hr. Ms. Utrecht



Hr. Ms. (His Majesty's Ship) Utrecht was a Holland Class cruiser, built by the Rijkswerf (Naval Yard) in Amsterdam and commissioned in 1901. She served as a training ship for midshipmen.  Tonnage was 4,033 and dimensions 94.7 x 14.8 x 5.4 metres. Speed was 16.5 knots.
On 6 June 1904 the ship ran aground with her sister ship Gelderland at Arões Lampoejang, South Sumatra, and they were taken for repairs to Surabaya and Singapore respectively.
On 17 June 1905, after having served in the Dutch East Indies, the Utrecht
returned together with the Noord Brabant and Gelderland back to the Netherlands. The journey from Priok to Den Helder went through Mahe, Perim, Port Said, Algiers and Tangier. The ship arrived on 30 August 1905 in Den Helder. On 1 September 1909 the ship departed from Suriname to New York to attend the Hudson-Fulton celebrations, held to mark the arrival of Henry Hudson in America on the VOC ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) and the placing into service of the steamship designed by Robert Fulton in 1809. The Utrecht took part in the naval review on the Hudson River.  
The ship's crew in 17th century costume presented a replica of Hudson's ship built at the Rijkswerf.  The replica was destroyed by fire a short time later. 
 On 25 April 1910 the Utrecht departed from Paramaribo to Buenos Aires for the celebration of 100 years of Argentina's independence. On 21 May, she participated in the fleet review on the coast there.
In 1913 she was taken out of service, like her sister ship the Friesland.

No comments: