World’s oldest steamship flying high

SS Robin, the last remaining steam coaster in the world, was airlifted by two massive 600 ton cranes in a highly technical and challenging operation recently.

The lift, in Lowestoft, Suffolk UK, was a dramatic and unprecedented operation to create a world first floating museum. Two of the heaviest cranes in the UK raised the newly restored 300 ton vessel off the quayside where it has been recently restored and onto its permanent new home. The historic ship was lifted in preparation for a return to London, where it will eventually take up a role as an innovative new museum and learning centre for young people.

‘I’m proud that London is home to SS Robin, the world's oldest complete steamship, said London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson. ‘I fully support the ambitious plans to transform this historic ship into a dynamic educational museum that will be a great learning source for schools. History is immensely important and I can think of no better way of learning than aboard a floating museum, packed with interesting facts and hidden treasures.’

Built in London in 1890, the SS Robin is a unique piece of maritime history, listed on the National Historic Fleet register and regarded as one of the most important British built ships.

Project management consultants Kampfner Ltd, who bought the historic vessel for £1 from the owners of the Cutty Sark ten years ago, are leading a technical team of East Anglian and London based marine consultants, engineers, naval architects and shipwrights in a unique historic ship conservation project.

Project director David Kampfner said, ‘The spectacular lift operation marks an exciting and entirely new concept for historic ships. This irreplaceable 'Grade 1' listed vessel is the only one left of her type, and will now be saved for the nation. She is set to enjoy a new lease of life on the River Thames as a museum dedicated to the seafarers who sacrificed their lives on the oceans far from home.

‘We're privileged to have worked with an excellent team of specialists from around the UK. There's a real sense of having made history here today, a momentous occasion, marking a new chapter in the remarkable SS Robin story.’

SS Robin, a classic Victorian coaster, is an irreplaceable member of the National Historic Fleet, of the type immortalised in John Masefield's much loved poem 'Cargoes'. It was brought to Lowestoft in 2008 from its home berth in London to undergo essential conservation work and repairs to its riveted structure.

The vessel is a symbol of an extraordinary period in British history when merchant shipping was the core of a determined spirit of entrepreneurship in what was then the workshop of the world.

The SS Robin conservation scheme is a Crossrail legacy project supported by a £1.9m loan from Crossrail