Antwerp(The Brussels Morning Newspaper):The old grain suction dredger a significant piece of maritime history is returning to Antwerp after restoration. It revolutionized grain transport allowing faster loading than before. Visitors can see it at MAS until August 16 with special events planned including a steam demonstration on August 3.
The old grain suction dredger which worked in the port of Antwerp from 1927 to 1984 now sits at the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam. It used to help move grain from ships to storage using suction. It has been said that it’s on display at the museum, showing how technology advanced in the early 1900s. The old ship got fixed up carefully to keep its old-timey look and workings. The restoration showed how vital it is to protect maritime history and the engineering from back then. The old grain suction boat is coming back to Antwerp for a bit. People there and visitors can see their maritime history firsthand. It’s a chance to learn about how ports worked back then and the technology they used.
What makes the grain suction dredger significant for Antwerp and Rotterdam?
The old grain suction boat is a big part of Antwerp’s history. Lies Burse the director of MAS. The grain elevator is a special old thing that Antwerp and Rotterdam both share. Lies Buyse from MAS in Antwerp says it’s really important and unique. Both cities own it together to keep a piece of history alive. Buyse says the grain elevator is super rare and crucial for Antwerp’s history. She’s thankful to Rotterdam for helping move it to Antwerp so people can see and enjoy it. This way everyone can keep celebrating and learning about Antwerp’s industrial past.
What was the impact of grain dredgers on cargo handling technology in the shipping industry?
Nabilla Ait Daoud says the grain dredger is a big deal in the ship industry. It changed how they move lots of grains, seeds or nuts between ships. Before the grain dredger it took over 100 dock workers a whole week to move 6,000 tons of stuff. But with the grain dredger a small team and a few of these machines could do the same job in just one day. This made the port work much faster and better and technology improved things back then. Nowadays grab cranes are mainly used to move bulk goods at ports. These new machines keep making cargo handling faster and better following the progress started by grain dredgers.
The steam grain dredger is at the MAS in Bonapartedok until August 16. It’s open to everyone from 10 am to 4 pm on July 31, August 3, August 7 and August 10. On August 3 during Museum Night people can visit the steam grain dredger until 1 am. They’ll also make it run on steam and light it up specially.
