The Lightship Gedser Rev, No. XVII
1895 1970
- Crew
- Two crews, each consisting of a skipper, a radio operator, a carpenter, a cook and three sailors. Each crew served one month on board and had one month off.
- Origin
- Built at N.F. Hansen’s shipyard in Odense and launched in 1895
From patrol duty in the Øresund to the geopolitical front line during the Cold War – the Gedser Rev has seen more than most. Here is the story of a ship that was never just a ship.
1.
A top-class wooden ship sets sail from Odense
In 1895, N.F. Hansen’s shipyard in Odense launched something quite special: a lightship commissioned by the Ministry of the Navy, which demanded the very best materials and methods available. No. 17 was originally manned by 16 crew members – including pilots – and had its own schooner rig, enabling it to manoeuvre and, moreover, avoid running aground should the anchor fail.
2.
A month away, a month at home
From 1895 to 1919, the ship was moored at Lappegrunden north of Elsinore – and from 1921 at Gedser Reef south of Lolland, where it remained until 1972. Two seven-man crews took turns on board: one month at sea, one month ashore. Along the way, the ship underwent regular upgrades – a diesel engine in 1921, a radio direction-finding station and an electric underwater signal shortly afterwards. A working vessel that kept pace with the times.
3.
The Cold War in the middle of the Baltic Sea
During the Second World War, the Gedser Rev was assigned to the Great Belt on German orders. But it was during the Cold War that the ship truly came to hold historical significance. The crew were among the first to report Russian ships carrying missiles heading for Cuba – and, situated midway between Denmark and East Germany, the ship became a lifeline for some fifty refugees from the Eastern Bloc who had crossed the Baltic Sea in various ways.
4.
A new lease of life with some help from A.P. Møller
When the ship was taken out of service in 1972, the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation stepped in and donated it to the National Museum. The ship lay in Nyhavn for many years, but began to fall into disrepair. The Foundation made a further donation, and from 2012 to 2014, the Gedser Rev underwent a thorough restoration: the hull, rigging and wooden structures above the waterline were renewed. Today, the ship looks just as it did in 1954.
Visit the lightship Gedser Rev in the Port of Helsingør
