FALCON POWERS – Sweden has launched a workshop to strengthen the fragile remains of the massive three-masted Vasa ship, which sank over 400 years ago in the waters of Stockholm. The project, which will last four years, involves building a new support structure around the ship’s hull.
Project director Peter Rönnberg told AFP during a visit to the ship stabilization site, “We want to preserve the Vasa for the future.” Pointing to the increasing cracks causing erosion in the structure, he explained that the condition of the sunken ship “is deteriorating rapidly” since it was salvaged. He added, “That’s why we decided to take action and take responsibility for the next generations.”
The three-masted Vasa was a symbol of the Swedish kingdom’s prosperity and was intended to be sent to the southern Baltic Sea, but its maiden voyage in 1628 was extremely short-lived. After just 15 minutes of sailing, the ship heeled over, capsized, and sank in the capital’s waters due to a design flaw, covering a distance of only about a kilometer and claiming dozens of crew members.
Deterioration After Salvage
The Vasa remained protected in the low-salinity Baltic Sea mud for over three centuries before being salvaged in 1961 through a meticulous operation. The ship has since been displayed in one of Stockholm’s most popular museums.
However, maintaining the structural integrity of the wreckage is a complex challenge. The wood contracts over the years, and the ship tilts slightly to the left due to gravity. Rönnberg emphasized the need to “stop this movement,” which has necessitated the initiation of a new support structure in April 2024 to replace the current one with multiple issues.
The first phase of this project, titled “Stötta Vasa” (Support Vasa), aims to stabilize the wreckage, while the second phase will involve creating a structure to bear the ship’s weight. The final phase will involve adjusting the ship’s position within the museum.
Steel Structure –
If the timeline can be adhered to, the structure will be reinforced from the outside and inside by 2028. The current 17 external supports will be replaced by 27 steel bearers fixed below the crossbeam.
Given that the “Vasa” is currently sagging under its own weight, an internal support structure, a kind of steel frame, will be installed in the ship to help slow its movement.
Peter Rönnberg said that the crystallization of this project required more than ten years of research, explaining that its cost ranges between 150 and 200 million Swedish kronor (between $14.4 and $19.1 million).
Describing it as “a very exciting project”, he recalled two key moments in the history of the “Vasa” after it sank – its salvage in the spring of 1961, and the restoration that took about 30 years before the museum opened in 1990. He added, “I can say that I participated in the third major workshop, which is the construction of a new support structure for the ship.”
However, the “Vasa” is well preserved, and 98 percent of its parts are original.
Polish tourist Łukasz Szyszka noted that “the condition of the ship is excellent (…) as all the (historical) elements can be seen, it is wonderfully cold inside for us but it is worth bearing that.”
To delay the deterioration of the “Vasa” as much as possible, the temperature in the museum’s main hall is kept at 18-20 degrees Celsius with a humidity level of 55 percent.
The 43-year-old merchant considered the wreckage necessary, considering it “a heritage for humanity, not just for Sweden.” He added, “We are Poles, and this is also part of our history.”
It was Gustav II Adolf (1611–1632) for whom the “Vasa” was built, who was particularly interested in controlling the Polish Baltic Sea ports.
