Now a museum ship in Yokohama the Nippon Maru was launched in 1930. Built as a 4 mast barque it served as a training ship, emergency transport ship, and repatriation vessel during its career. In 1983 the Nippon Maru was replaced by a ship of the same name and the Nippon Maru became a museum ship. During a trip to Yokohama, we stopped at the Nippon Maru one morning.
Launched in 1930 the Nippon Maru was built to serve as a training ship for Japan’s Merchant Marine. Built with a 4-mast barque configuration the masts and sails were taken down during WWII. During WWII it served as a training ship and emergency transport. After WWII it participated in repatriation efforts and brought home 25,428 citizens. During the Korean War, she was used for the transportation of refugees and soldiers. In 1952 the masts and sails were returned and the Nippon Marau returned to being a sail training ship. Due to the nature of being a sail training ship, the Nippon Maru sailed with a massive crew of 27 officers, 48 seamen, and 120 trainees.
In 1984 a new ship named Nippon Maru was launched. The Nippon Maru II took over the duty of training sailors and continues to operate to this day. The original Nippon Maru retired on the 16th of September 1984 with an approximate total of 1,830,000 kilometers traveled and 11,500 trainees having sailed beneath her mast. In 1985 she became the property of the city of Yokohama and was turned into a museum ship.
2 Comments
Whould you want to sail on the Nippon Maru?
Love tall ships but that is not a lot of living space!