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Of all the ships built by De Schelde that are still sailing, the 88-year-old former ferry Koningin Emma is certainly the oldest. As a ferry for the Provinciale Stoombootdiensten PSD [In English: Provincial Steamboat Services], the ship served faithfully for 35 years before being sold in 1968. But the Koningin Emma is back. The ship will hopefully get a nice spot this year in the Dokhaven in Vlissingen’s Scheldekwartier, the place where it was built and launched in 1933. Among other things, the Koningin Emma will be used as a bed and breakfast. Arjan van Gelder, together with three other enthusiastic custodians of PSD’s rich history, manages the website www.psdnet.nl. He calls the site “a reference work about the PSD”.
Destination: Vlissingen. The Koningin Emma off the coast of Walcheren on her way to Vlissingen. Photo: PSDnet.nl
There is a wealth of information about the history of the former ferry service to be found on the website. The four psdnet.nl men took the initiative last September to bring the Koningin Emma back to Zeeland from Scheveningen, where she had been used as a sport fishing boat since 1975. This proved successful after finding an investor and the cooperation of the municipality of Vlissingen. On 31 March – a beautiful sunny day – the ship sailed back to Vlissingen along the North Sea coast.
"Miraculously, she survived the scrap yard and ended up in Rotterdam"
Just like her sister ships the Ooster-Schelde and the Prins Willem I, the Koningin Emma (construction number 197) was built as a 49-metre long side-loading ferry at De Schelde. The Netherlands was in the middle of the crisis years and during the tender process the yard transpired to be the most expensive construction supplier. “In order to secure the order, the municipality of Vlissingen made up the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive provider,” explains Arjan. “De Schelde could make good use of the contract as there was little other work at the yard. That is why the ferries were known in the workplace as the crisis boats.”
Arjan goes on to say that there is still a mystery to be unravelled about the Koningin Emma. Namely, like her sister the Ooster-Schelde, the ship was launched early in the morning in June 1933. This was remarkable because in those days De Schelde usually launched its ships on Saturdays at noon, so that as many people as possible could watch the launch. “We have not yet figured out why the Koningin Emma and the Ooster-Schelde deviated from the norm. We also do not know much about the construction itself; so far we have not been able to find any photos of the construction work or the original interior of the ship.”
The Koningin Emma and her sister ships Ooster-Schelde and Prince Willem I next to each other at De Schelde. Photo: PSDnet.nl
The restoration and conversion of the former PSD ferry started almost immediately after arrival at Reimerswaal Shipyard in Vlissingen-East on March 31. Photo: PSDnet.nl
The Koningin Emma had an eventful life. “In the run-up to the capitulation, the ship was used by the Netherlands Royal Navy as a minelayer during the war,” says Arjan. “During the war, it was one of two PSD ferries that continued operations, although the ship did come under fire a few times. As an auxiliary boat during the 1953 flood disaster, it was used to transport evacuees from Zierikzee to Dordrecht. And during the construction of the storm surge barrier in the 1980s, the Koningin Emma provided accommodation for the builders working on the barrier.”
“After her working life in Zeeland, the ship ended up at a shipbreaking yard in Nieuw-Lekkerland. Miraculously, she survived the scrap yard and ended up in Rotterdam, where she was given her current name Estrella and became a floating brothel. After that, she was used as a sport fishing boat based in Scheveningen.
The motto of the province of Zeeland ‘luctor et emergo’, meaning ‘I struggle and emerge’ therefore truly applies to this boat.” The Koningin Emma is currently moored at Reimerswaal Shipyard in Vlissingen-East, where she is being thoroughly renovated and restored. There will be ten cabins on the aft deck where the second-class salons used to be.
The cabins disappeared in the years the ship was used as a brothel. The new cabins are intended for the guests of the forthcoming bed and breakfast. The ship will also have modest catering facilities and seating areas with umbrellas. The men from psdnet.nl will restore more original spaces on board, such as the bridge, the two first-class salons and the engine room to their former glory, decorating them with old PSD photos and memorabilia. These areas will be open regularly to the public. “We want to recreate that authentic PSD atmosphere of the fifties.”
“We want to recreate that authentic PSD atmosphere of the fifties”
Arjan van Gelder on board the Koningin Emma during the journey from Scheveningen back to Vlissingen.
The Koningin Emma initially sailed between Terneuzen and Hoedekenskerke, and later between Katseveer and Zierikzee. “The ferry became redundant upon completion of the Zeeland Bridge in 1965. It was then a back-up boat for a few years until it was sold in 1968.” Arjan has a special place in his heart for De Schelde as well as for the PSD. “An uncle of mine worked in the PSD workshop and my grandfather A.J. van Gelder worked at De Schelde all his life, starting in 1916. As a fourteen-year-old boy, his job was to scrape off barnacles and other fouling from docked ships. But he managed to work his way up to chief engineer in the drawing office. He prepared many launches down to the finest detail, including the legendary Willem Ruys.”