After a quiet period for visitors to West India Dock , we welcome the Tall Ship  Kaskelot , a three-masted barque and one of the largest remaining wooden ships in commission.

Kaskelot has quite an unusual background being built in 1948 by J Ring Anderson for the Royal Greenland Trading Company at the Svendborg shipyard in Denmark . Originally she was used to take supplies to remote coastal settlements in  Greenland, she then was used as a fisheries ship in the Faroes.

In the 1980s she was bought by a film production company and she become a bit of a film star appearing in a number of films and television programmes including The Last Place on Earth (1985), Revolution (1985), Return to Treasure Island (1986),  The Three Musketeers (1993), Cutthroat Island (1995), Swept from the Sea (1997), A Respectable Trade (1998), David Copperfield (1999), Longitude (2000), Shackleton (2002) and Amazing Grace (2006).

In 2013 she was sold and has just completed a major multi-million pound restoration at T. Nielsen in Gloucester  where many original features were retained whilst incorporating state-of-the-art equipment and machinery.

It is thought the owners are going to use the ship for charters, filming and private events. although if you fancy buying a large Tall Ship the ship is available to purchase.

Kaskelot in full sail

Her statistics are as follows :
Rig: 3 masted Barque double topsail
LOA: 153ft (46.6m)
Beam: 28ft (8.5m)
Draught: 12ft (3.6m)
Engine: Mitsubishi S6A3 T2 500h.p. diesel (new)
Main deck: 79 x 25ft (24.1 x 7.6m)
Quarter deck: 34.4 x 22.6ft (10.5 x 6.9m)
Main hold area: 200m3
Air Draught: 105ft (32m)
GRT: 226 tons
Area of Sail: 9,500 sq. ft (2,895.6 sq.m)
No. of Sails: 17

Massey Shaw in front of Kaskelot