Built-in 1914, the historic Statsraad Lehmkuhl ship docked in Cape Town on Friday for the very first time, after sailing across the world for a century.
Rashika Lalla from the Royal Norwegian Embassy said the Norwegian tall ship was built in Germany originally for commercial purposes, and today, the ship has sailed under the Norwegian flag for over a century.
The ship measures 98 metres in length, carries 22 sails, has a crew of 25 members, and can carry over 140 trainees on a trip. "Its tallest mast measures 48 metres above the ground, and the top speed is 17 knots or 31.5 km/h.
"In August 2021, the Norwegian tall ship ‘Statsraad Lehmkuhl’ one of the largest and most distinctive sailing ships in the world, departed the coast of Norway for a 20-month circumnavigation of the globe on the ‘One Ocean Expedition’.
“This is a global oceanic expedition that aims to raise awareness and share knowledge about the role of the oceans in sustainable development," said Lalla.
She said the ship is recognised as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Ocean Development, and the expedition has provided a unique opportunity for scientists, students, and others to explore and collect data on the status of the world’s oceans.
"It provides insight into key research questions, such as CO2 exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, ocean acidification, the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, and the amount and distribution of human impact on the oceans (pollution, noise, micro-plastics, etc.)," said Lalla.
The University of the Western Cape (UWC), has organised a beach clean-up campaign at the Black River in the early hours of this morning, Saturday, January 14, as part of acknowledging and celebrating the arrival of Statsraad Lehmkuhl.
Carmel Roberts said the clean-up is an initiative by the UWC's Southern African-Nordic Centre (Sanord).
"The iconic vessel embarked on ‘The One Ocean Expedition’, a 20-month-long circumnavigation of the globe. The expedition aims to share knowledge and raise awareness about the importance of the ocean for our common, sustainable future," she said.
She said next week, the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences will host a session on North-South Collaboration on board the ship and will include experts from South African universities.
The Royal Norwegian Embassy and partners will host a series of events during the week that the ship is at berth at Jetty 2, at the V&A Waterfront.
The events will be closely related to the overall mission and objective of the “One Ocean Expedition”, namely sustainable ocean management.