In the West Flemish seaside resort of Ostend renovation work on museum ship Mercator is as good as finished. Four new yards have been installed on the front mast. The yards are the large horizontal masts to which the sails are attached. The work was done by an international team.
The Mercator's yards were in need of urgent renewal. Samuel Lauwers, project coordinator at the Ostend Tourist Board: "Two of the four yards were still made of wood. They were rotten here and there and pieces were starting to fall off. The Mercator is a protected monument and we got permission from the Heritage Agency to replace the wooden yards with steel ones. The steel yards are also perfect for bringing the ship under sail, should this ever happen again."
The entire ropework with blocks is also being renewed. All told the work is estimated to cost €500,000. Luckily, the City of Ostend is receiving financial support from the Heritage Agency. "We are well on schedule. Normally we will meet the planned timing. If no more problems arise in the final phase, we will be able to welcome visitors from Tuesday 10 October onwards. The first group reservations are already in" says Lauwers.