HMS Caroline reopens three years after Covid-19 closed the floating war-ship museum

Does a nautical museum float your boat?

HMS Caroline, a First World War ship, has reopened to the public in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter where she was built back in 1914.

The war ship is the last known surviving ship from the Battle of Jutland in 1916, which is said to be one of the largest and most historically important battles in naval history.

The onboard living quarters, signal school, engine room, sick bay and galley were all restored and opened to the public in 2016, but the project sank after coronavirus hit.

The vessel's Visitor Experience Manager explained to UTV that reopening was not just a matter of lowering the gangplank.

It took so long because all the artefacts on display in the ship had to be dismantled and removed for their safekeeping when the pandemic struck.

Kerry Rooney said putting everything back together again was akin to reopening a brand new museum.

"All of the stuff that you see on board, all the artefacts... That's all new and it's all been put in, especially for the reopening today.

"We've also had a chance to open some new stuff up to bring out some new archives. Things like the bell, the christening bell," he said.

John Taylor is no stranger to the tradition of the christening bell.

He worked on the ship as an engineer for 29 years, but he is anchored to the vessel for personal reasons too.

He met his wife on HMS Caroline.

Two of his three children and his grandson were christened on the boat using the bell.

Now, he volunteers there, and is delighted to see passengers aboard again.

He told UTV his must-see part of the ship, as a former chief engineer in the Navy, is the engine room.

“They have the first Parsons turbine engine which was developed in Liverpool. They had the first part in three strong boilers which don't really come out at the time.

"Her top speed and we have records of it was 48 knots, 50 miles an hour. There's no ship on the sea at the minute can actually do 50 miles an hour.

"If you look at Caroline, she's there for speed.

"If you look at a drawing of a light cruiser from the Second World War of the German side, it's virtually the same - three funnels, the masts exactly the same.

"And her job was to get in among the Germans, get the information and get it back to the ground fleet."

It has now emerged that HMS Caroline is safely docked in Belfast until at least 2038, since the Department for the Economy reached agreement with the National Museums of the Royal Navy and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

She is moored in Belfast’s Alexandra Dock beside the Science Park in Titanic Quarter.

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