Enthusiasts want to save the Zenobe Gramme, a former Belgian navy training ship, from privatisation.
On 2 November, ‘Les amis du Zenobe Gramme’ ('Friends of the Zenobe Gramme) will be holding an information event on their crowdfunding campaign in Ostend.
At the end of July, the Ministry of Defence had announced that it was retiring its famous ship. An auction was due to decide the fate of the boat, and the group of enthusiasts hope to be able to buy it over and make it available to students at the Antwerp Maritime Academy, HZS. To do so, they need to raise €200,000.
‘It's not just a ship, but a piece of maritime heritage’, Joeri Nobels, one of the initiators of the rescue movement, wrote on social networks. "The ship has taken part in many international competitions and is a symbol of tradition and seamanship."
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Zenobe Gramme has sailed at least 400,000 nautical miles, or 19 times around the world. ‘The training ship has left its mark on generations of apprentice sailors of all ranks, from deckhand to admiral.’
